The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-04-13
THE CHINESE QUESTION.


years. The bill had passed both branches
of Congress by large majOrities and is
approved by nine-tenths of the American
people. Notwithstanding this, Arthur,
as did the fraudulent Hayes, vetOes the
measure.
To meet Hayes's objections, given in
his veto, Congress authorized special
embassy to China to negotiate a treaty
cOnceding our right to regulate and
suspend Coolie immigration. The treaty
was ratified by both Governments, and
the law Arthur has just vetoed was
passed in pursuance of it. 1t had the
support of the best legal minds in both
the Senate and House, and passed the
former by very nearly and the latter
body by over two-thirds majority. The
veto was sustained in the Sen ate,
the bill not receiving a two
thirds vote, being 30 for, to 21 against.
President Arthur's technical and legal
objections were urged in Congress by
Chinese members while the bill was
undCr discus sion, and were completely
cOntrOyerted. He champions this COolie
immigration of seryile labor and says:
But if there is too much of it in one
section of the country the same labor
"may be needed in another section" AS
the Pacific States and territories are
OVer-run by this cheap form of servile
labor, this is equivalent to declaration
that it should be transplanted to other
States and spread over the country.
Let mechanics and labOTing men con-
slider this. This is the very doctrine
proclaimed in the MOrey letter abOHt
which Republicans made such a fuss
and over which they were so indignant.
Do these men want to enslave labor? If
they do nOt-why do they want the COOlie
system introduced?
LabOring men will hardly agree with
Arthur that, "Chinese labor has been of
great value to this country" At least,
wOrkingmen in California will not
agree with this proposition. At an cleo
tiOn held last year on the question of
prohibiting Chinese immigration, the
vote of that State stood 154, 1000 in favor
of such prohibition, and only LOO
votes could be obtained in favor of the
immigration on a secret ballot. This
shows the recorded judgment of worthy
citizens after long and bitter expert
enCe.
In California are over $1,000 Chinese,
and of these 10000 are adult males, or 43
Tar 70 ha 10 oil, s
the State; in Idaho the per centage is %,
in Nevada and Oregon IS each and in
Washington II. This is an average of
% per cent, or rather more than one in
five. President Arthur seems to think
it would be a good thing to have this
proportion of COOlie serfs in competition
with the white labor of Ohio. What do
wOrkingmen think about it?
The message refers to the importance
of our commercial relations with China;
but this is all on one side, as statistics
show the exports of the United States to
China in 1881 amounted to $S,364,53
while the imports from China to the
United States were $24,717,556. In other
words, we pay them three dollars for
every dollar they pay us. Where are
the benefits?
1t is claimed that the influence of the
great Pacific railway corporations had
something to do in bringing about this
veto. They lobbied against the bill for
they want cheap labor that don't strike.
The Six Companies of San Francisco and
China, that operate in the buying and
selling of COOlie flesh and blood, had a
hired lobby in Washington working to
defeat the bill. They make money out
of the traffic and wish it to continue as
did the Yankee ship owners who used to
import negro slaves from Africa.
There is another class whose maWkish
makes them advocates of
Chinese immigration. These express
their horror at Mormon pOlygamy, but
are both willing and anxious to food
the country with an abOminable Chinese
whose immOralities in all
these respects are well known. Rev.
Henry Ward Beecher is one of this class,
and he has quite a following, of course.
The worst forms of diseased conditions
come with these Cool g., but it seems to
constitute no objection with these
"philanthrOpists."
Irrespective of politics or religion, the
press of California pronounce the veto
a violent assumption of power, and this
is the sentiment of nearly all the citi-
zens beyond the Rocky Mountains with
out regard to political affiliations. They
denounce the party that ignores the
rights of free American labOring men
in order to obey the commands of few
gready railway lords and contractors of
New England. 1t is time this degrading
labor by monopoly arrangements, au-
thOrized and sustained by Government,
were properly understood and properly
met. We do not believe in re-Opening
the slave trade in any shape. The
American people are opposed to it, nine
out of ten, no matter whether the hOrdes
are negroes or Coolies.
JOHN SHERMAN thinks the excitement
in California over the veto of the Chi