Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-06-09

ri;il..lpd that Chinese lalstI II LOt
serylle, but free. In a subject SO
important, we need hardly tolerate
bubble on words or a balancing Of
technical phrases. a people is SER
vile when 1t becomes an inert mass,
directed solely by the will of others,
and repealed by fear from exercising
the ordinary prorogatives of free
men. That this is the case with the
Chinese in California, is apparent
when we consider, never so briefly,
the circumstances under which they
are brought into the country, and
the tenure by which Their stay is
determined. The real masters of
the Chinese i'll California are those
of their own countrymen who com.
pose the Six Companies. the Srm
Yup, Kong Chow, Wing Yung, Hop
Wo, Young Wo ard Y'ng Wn.
These enforce their authority partly
as creditors of the lahorer~, and
partly by combinations with the
steamship companys. A contractor
desiring any given number of CHI
nese, makes an agreement with one
or the other Of the companies, which
undertakes TO furnish the desired
number, to be selected in China. 4
Chinaman wishing to emigrate from
his own country to California will
in most cases, borrow money for III,
expenses, paying interest at from
four to eight per cent. a month:
and until this money Is repaid lie is
bound to the company, and goes
hithcr and thither at its beck and
call. Iu adition to the cost of bis
voyage. he is required to pay seven
ty-iive dollars to the company as its
commission. In return fol this COM
mission, the company exercises a
general supervision and care over
each individual, not only finding
him employment, but caring for him
in sickness and misfortune.
| When the company is fully re-
paid, the immigrant is presumably
free, but is not SO in fact. Every
Chluaman hopes to return sooner or
later to his own country, OF at least
to have his remains laid beside those
of bis ance tons; but the Six Com
panies have made arrangements with
the steamship companies by which
no Chinaman, alive or dead, can be
trans-shippe6 without their consent.
More than this, the great majority
being directly indebted to the COM
panies, work for the interests, real
or imagined, of their creditors, and
a Chiuaman fares hard indeed at the
hands of his own people, if he is
found to be recalcitrant. Whatever
name, therefore, may be given to the
relation of the Chinese to their EN-
ployers, they are neither more noi
less than servile to the last degree.
Another result that has been oh.
served to flow from this is the con
stantly increasing arrogance on the
part of employers, fault cultivated
and encouraged 10y the patient and
absolute servility of the cheap la
borer.
1t is no wonder, therefore, thai
with wages depressed below the
point OF comfortable living, and will
labor debased to the social depths O.
an Asiatic community, California ha:
not increased in white population
and has materially diminished il
that distributive wealth which is the
only solid Foundation for the mate
rial prosperity of commonwealth
1 know that it is claimed that thu
aggregate wealth OF the State ha!
been increased by Chinese labor, bu
the evidence does not bear on: the
assertion. On the contrary, it is no
difficult to prove that the State Ii
actually poorer to-day than sht
would have been had the Chinese
} never passed the Golden Gate
More than this, it is easy to show
that the wealth of the State ever
apart from that included in the land
has been principally accumulated il
! the hands of few, while the mas!
of the people has been impoverished
We may go further, and assert with
perfect truth that even the cities O
the Atlantic seaboard are poorer b,
many millions than they would have
been had California been depend
ent upon white labor salone. Tha
; State has lost for the past quarter O
} a century the increase of white pop
: ulation that would have Injured t.
} her, had she presented the attrac
ton of high wages to the thrifty
mechanics, farmers and laborins
men of the Eastern States. And
} during the same period she has los
} the refnements in tillage and the
enterprise in commercial undertak
, ings that she would have experienced
had her immense ranches been di
vided into smaller farms, as they
} would have been had not the Chi
) nese furnished vassals for theil
} Wholesale cultivation.
If agriculture has lost from chear
labor, commerce has not gained
1t has been asserted that our trad.
with China has been promoted by
the presence of the Chinese. But i
we analyze this we shall find it as de
lusive as the others. Out of perhap:
twenty millions of dollars of imports
thirteen millions are in tea and sill
which would be imported to the
) same degree if there were no Chinese
on the coast; and the same remark
applies to most of the othsr imports
q very large proportion Of which is
consumed by the Chinese themselves
as, for example, two million dollars
of rice, three hundred thousand OF
fire-crackers. and one million dollars
more or less, of opium. Of the
balance, some three or four millions
of dollars, it is difficult to see in
what respect it owes its existence to
Chinese immigration. 1t consists OF
c,ah ,ta,,, N, III q ao.,.,.,