Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-19
TEE PRESENT CHINESE QUESTION.
A Labor Problem That Is Not OF Easy
Solution Looming Up ON the Pacific
SynGsf

n Labor FcObfem EhatkS MOI OF Easy
Solution Looming Up ON the Pacific
Coast.
[''Ruhamah' in St. Louis Globe Democrat
Since the passage of the restriction act over
1900 Cinnamon have gone home on pass
ports or return certificates and not one-sixti1
of them have yet returned. These 1900
are the very PICK eli The skilled and lndustri-
Gus workmen, and have gone back after years
of toll to live in noble ease on the fruits Of
their labor. From $500 to SS00 is the aver
age fortune on which they retire, and,
going to "big China" with such
sum a man can buy small farm and live q
a nabob forever after. With Io banks in
China, and only copper currency that has
to be carried by the basketful, the returning
Chinaman generally puts his money into some
commodity that sells high ia the Celestial
marts, and reelizes a handsome percentage
on his venture. ALI the Cinnamon that can
be struggled across from British Columbia
can not fill the places of the 12.Oo0 trained
servants and laborers that have gone from
this port within eighteen months
The two steamship companies that run yes
sells between San Francisco and Hong Kong
have had terrible falling off in their passage
force. The steerage passage from China to
this country is S51, and for the return trip
$53. From this source the Pacific Mail and
the Oriental and Occidental companies real
lied 81 900, coo per annum in the years before
congressional action. The steamers sailing
from here every fortnight carry returning
Chinese by the hundreds, but have empty
steerages on their return voyages The Oce-
flo hoo
Cinnamon, and the Coptic, sailing to-mor-
row, will take out 200 more. the Storage
passage of this one ship amounting thus to
i. S63, 500.
As problem that is soon to stare them in
the face more grimly, the present Chinese
question is not an agreeable one to those Cal
/ fornians who besieged the doors of congress
two years ago, and harangued so wildly
against the pig-tailed laborers With unceI-
tainty and anarchy in every household, the
question is being brought home to the 1wel-
lers in the cities, and with labor growing
pendent, the owners of large ranches
them, compared to which rust,
! blight and phylloxera are nothing The emf
| grants from European countries come here to
settle upon railroad lands, OF take up home
steads, and when they do consent to labor
Immediately demand higher wages than are
! paid to Cinnamon, as tribute to the supe-
/ riority of the Caucasian race. The African
| does not do well on California soil, and
+ from feeling himself superior to the China
man, soon gets to be an unmanageable
! factor in the social economy.
| Discussing these things with citizen who
was prominent for the energy with which he
demanded and fought for the restrictory act
it was asked if California had not gotten her
self into worse box by stopping coolie en-
igration than if she had let the heather horde
pour in and reduce wages by close competi
ton. The citizen dropped his voice ant
said, ''That is exactly the truth, but I'll b.
the last one to dare say SO publicly, and al
Californians were violent in the matter of re
Stricting emigration that we will have to sui
fer our ten years in silence"