, 1882-04-21
did. Further on we find this:


Congress, but has been vetoed by the
President, you will find that it was in
tended to prevent the immigration OF
the Chinese RACE OF all ndt,ondtat.eS,
therefore your statement that the Chl-
nese can easily go to some other coun-
try and then come here is all nonsense.
Really, Mr.. Weir, am SURPRISED that
the erudite editor of the ARGUS knows
so little of one of the leading questions
of the day Ia case Of the coal passer
who wants to be foremanD."
Why couldn't Cinnamon become
British subjects, under British lawsY
II they did, would we dare refuse to
allow such subjects to come to our
shores? The blind egotism of Mr. john
stone and his fellow laborers in assum-
ing such superior knowledge upon this
question amounts to sublime impu-
dence. Their logic is hardly worth an
swering. Their spokesman further re-
lieves himself in this style:
"You say that 'one OF the most sense
less arguments is that they will supplant
our government with one Of their own
Are you so ignorant of the history of
Chinese that you don't know that the
aggressive Tartar Tor Chlnese) Overran
Europe until they were checked under
the walls of Vienna and then driven
back to their own howery land? Their
present invasion Of this county is a
peaceful one, and therefore more to be
dreaded and more likely to be success
full, especially when they have such SYM
pathisers and friends as you to help
them to make good their footing in this
country"
Again we stamp the above as silly,
senseless talk. 1t is used by many
smart men merely as high sounding
bombast to tickle the ears OF less know
ing followers. 1t is used by others be-
cause they don't know any better.
Europe is country small in area and
densely populated in comparison with
ours. There was not room for the
hordes of Chinese and for the Euro
peans too, hence the Tartars were driven
back by the more skilled and warlike
people. They have no idea of "inva-
sion" in the United States. They come
here to make money, and because the
great monopolies OF this country want
their cheap labor. Our domain is large
enough to accommodate half the Chi
nese nation, and then we could crush
them out by force if we chose. One en-
ergetic Yankee would whip five China
men on an average every time. The
idea that they can supplant our govern
ment on our own soil is just so much
balderdash that men who pretend to
be intelligent ought to be ashamed to
entertain. In closing, Mr.. Johnstone
says:
II was instructed by my fellow labo-
rers at the meeting last night to write
to you and to DEMAND retraction of
the contemplate, false assertions you
published in your editorial. They al
so demand an apology for those asser-
tions, the retraction and apology to be
published in your next issue of the AR
GUS"
The above reasonable (?) demand
comes to us pregnant with the monu-
mental cheek of brass mounted gov
ernment mule. Permit us to ask if the
penalty for non-conformity will subject
us to be skinned, hayed alive, or simply
hanged? Because the storming party
may as well begin operations. This
happens to be free country, and the
blood bought privilege of freedom of
the Press was never dearer than it is to-
day. That privilege we enjoy in COM
mon with other newspaper men-not
for the purpose of unlimited license and
abuse, but that we may have our say
without duress from few laborers who
have right to their say, who may have
misunderstood us, but who need not
waste their time in making de
MANDS." We have offered no affront
to the white laborers of this goodly
land-though our well meant plain talk
may have been misunderstood by some.
We have said nothing but what we will
stand by. Until we do, retractions and
apologies will not appear in the ARGUS.
We are informed upon good authority
that those who instigated the indigna-
ton meeting referred to were foreigners
themselves and not American citizens at
all. We might have dismissed them by
saying that many such as they come
here, through the generosity of our
laws, and imagine in a short time that
they can run the machine" themselves;
that such persons often arrogate to
themselves bigger say in our national
affairs than Americans bred and horn