Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-03-22
RATIFICATION MEETING
AT TURNER HALL SATURDAY
NIGHT-BOYCOTT DISCUSSED.
Speeches Made by F. II. Dray,
Senator REUTER-, Grove l..
johnson and Others.

day evening for the purpose of ratifying
the acts of the late AnIi-Chinese State Con-
vention was largely attended.
The meeting was presided over by John
d. Jost who introduced as the first speaker
f. r. Dray, delegate to the State Conven-
ton and member of the State Anti-Chi-
nese Executive Committee.
Mr.. Dray said he desired to make state
ment to define his position and express his
feelings upon the subject He had always
boldly expressed his opinions and en-
deayored to maintain them upon all public
questions. He briefly reviewed his life,
thirty years of which had been spent in
California; always had sympathized with
and defended the working classes, and be-
lieved in giving helping hand to eau
casian labor. He believed the time had
come when everyone should put their hand
to the wheel, and endeavor to rid our State
of the curse of servile labor In speaking
of the late Convention, he admitted that
many things took place that he would have
preferred TO have seen otherwise There
was, however, but one prevailing sentiment
in that body, and that was, the Chinese
must 90. How TO get rid of them was the
only question. Boycott was the one word
that divided the Convention. 1t carries
with 1t vast meaning. In its fullest senti-
ment it is a most abominable word What
IS the meaning of the word boycott as
| adopted by the State Convention has led TO
much discussion and division of sentiment
between the Executive Committee and the
| local organizations in Sacramento. The
| speaker then read that portion of the reso-
| lutlons of the State Convention wherein
| the word boycott is used. He claimed that
II dld not mean boycott in its fullest sense.
He said there were two classes to be dealt
with, the wiil-nots and those who cannot
| Immediately consent. The local organ
lzation hal appointed committee to search
out all such. The will-nots are to be boyc)t-
ted They should be boycotted immediately.
for they can and should dispose of their
| Chinese help. This boycotting should OF
be done all at once, with one plunge, but
reached by degrees, and close it out all
along the line. Every one who DISCHARGES
! their Chinese are with us in senti-
ment and should be given certificates
to place upon their manufactured goods
| and thus assist in this work. The State
| Executive Committee does not propose TO
inaugurate the boycott by the use of i'm
mediate and extreme measures From
what the committee states it is apparent
iliht lHcN W get all INTO line without
| the use OF extreme measures. They do
not propose to boycott every man because
he happens to visit boycotted house. He
read statement made by McGlashan.
which was to the effect that the boycott
was not to be used in a revengeful spirit
and said he Endorsed that sentiment. He
said he did not enter this cause for himself
but for his children and future generations.
II this curse is not now removed our chill
dren and our children's children will be
compelled to labor on an equal footing with
the Chinese in all kinds of manual and
skilled labor Some saw he said that these
men who are clamoring for an immediate
boycott, severe and unrelenting. want to 90
too fast-are not sincere. This is not true
They have suffered long, and see no other
avenue of escape. Tread upon q worm
and it will squirm and wriggle. His advice
| to all was TO keep within the law. and
maintain steady pressure until their aim
IS accomplished. White men, he claimed
could not run orchards or VINEYARDS in
competition with those owned by Chinese
and operated by Chinese labor.
AN oRCHARDIsT SPEAKS.
Senator Reuter-, the next speaker. said .
indorse all the resolutions adopted bv The
| State Convention, and above all Others the
! boycottlng resolution as the sum and sub
stance OF our deliberations. But let me
! tell you here, that the date of the 10th of
November, adopted by the Sacramento Ex-
! ecutve Committee, is a step backwards
| does not give satisfaction to the masses
and only puts back for another year what
| ought to be accomplished Immediately. II
means that Tor another year because most
all the work of farms and orcl.Srds and
vineyards must be done before that time)
the white labor of this State is going to be
boycotted by the Chinese; it means that
no white man seeds to apply for work ND
and down the Sacramento river; it
means that thousands of hardy laborers.
| willing to work, willing to do any
thing and everything honorable to make a
living, VIII be refused chance to do so.
and Will as natural consequence have TO
beg for bread, as they have done all winter
and are now doing. This Sacramento
resolution means that for another wear 90
OO9 California boys, from 10 to 90 wears of
age, Will be refused the chance to prove to
| the world that they are the true sons of the
| argonauts of 40 and that if permitted
they Will gather the golden apples of the
garden OF the Hesperides, defended as they
now are by monster dragon with one
hundred and forty thousand heads
This resolution means also that no wo-
man, no young girl, is for another year to
be given chance to earn enough money
to live honestly. 1t means that gold is
king, that the virtue of Our daughters, the
honor OF our sons, has no weight whatever
In the balance held by the modern Shvlocks.
Think of it Another year like last
year, another year of plenty for the Chi
nese, and of want, misery and restitution
Tor our own people, on the shallow pretext
that they are Ignorant of the complicated
art of picking and packing fruit
EpllnyV-pIfIZnnS
humbug. There is not young man from
10 to % years old who cannot be taught
that very simple business of picking fruit
IN one week. There is not one of them
who cannot become good packer in an
other week. My experience of over thirty
years IN the Embarrassing business has
proved to ME what l advance. Some of
the best white pickers of the State came to
my orchard, or to the orchards of my
nelghbors, not knowing anything about il,
but soon became masters in that business.
and the work of one white man is equal to
the work of from two to three Chinese.
Do not be deceived by that most extraor
binary affirmation, that, without the China
men, the fruit crop cannot be handled.
There is to-day in the State enough white
men and women, enough bows and girls to
do that kind of work. More than that.
Immigrants are pouring in by the thou
sands, in consequence of the low rates of
travel on the railroad. Are we after in
viting them here, going to refuse them
work? Are we going to pretend that Eu-
ropean foreigners are but little better than
Cinnamon for California There are no for
eigners here except the Chinese ANY white
man, who has once landed here, who has
once titled our soil, who has raised one
crop in California, who has seen our orange
groves, our olive and fig trees, our vine
yards and orchards, that man exclaims.
" Eureka Here l will live, here | will
bring my wife and children l will add to
the beauty and prosperity of my new coun-
try and home, and here will rest forever"
Let US be frank and honest. Let us step
out OF vicious circle, if can use that fig
nre of speech. Fruit-growers and hop
raisers say that they will employ white
men, as soon as the Cinnamon are gone.
The Cinnamon will never go so long as
they are employed. They say also thew
will employ white men when they become
expert at fruit and hop picking and pack
ing. But how can they become So if thew
are not hired and given chance to learn?
Do not believe for a moment that the
Cinnamon are natural fruit-packers. 1t
takes them long time to learn. The most
OF the truit-men took the trouble to teach
Their Cinnamon what they wanted them to
do. We must now do tho Same thine, for.