Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-09-03
THE CHINESE
AND THE
CHINA QUESTION.

Public Opinion Manufactured In Favor
Of the Chinese-Cninese immigration
has not Reached its Limit China ha.
Reversed her Former Policy Signs o.
Aggression The Chinese Immigration
Should be Suppressed by Government
The Burlingame Treaty.
1t may be asked, why, with thes.
facts staring the investigator in the
face, so strong public opinion as W.
know exists should have been pro
duced or maintained in favor O
Chinese immigration. The answer j,
easily found. California, is in a grea
measure ruled by railroads whose
builders made fortunes through Chi
nese labor. The Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company has its vessels manned
with Chinese sailors, and makes it,
profits from the transport of Chinese
coolies to such a degree that without
this traffic it could hardly exist and
as We have seen, it is in close affilia
ton with the Chinese companies
through whom the immense food o
Asiatic laborers has flowed into the
country. The American consular
charges in China have been from one
to two dollars per head for every
Chinaman shipped; and all the off
cial weight Of the American represen.
tatives at Hong Kong has been thrown
in favor of the trade. And every
large manufacturer and great land
owner who has found the profits OF
the ranch or the manufactory en-.
HANGED through the reduction OF
wages to the lowest point, has joined
i'll laudation of cheap labor. To SC
great an extent has the fabrication OF
a public opinion in favor of the Chin
esc been carried, that after the deatl.
OF Senator Morton, it was widely re-
ported, and almost as widely be.
lieved, that he had left in his own
handwriting report in laudation OF
Chinese labor and advocating its con.
tinuance; whereas the truth was that
Senator Morton joined with the other
members OF the committee in declar.
ing that it has "becomA painfully
evident that the Pacific coast must in
time become either American or Mon
golian, and, with reference to the
present industrial condition of Cali.
fornia arising from Chinese labor
used the following language: "The
Chinese have advantages which will
put them far in advance in the race
for possession. They can subsist
where the American would starve
They can work for wages which will
not furnish the barest necessities ol
life to an American" This com
mittee, of which the Senator was one
and in whose report he joined, spoke
Of the Chinese as making their way
"by revolving characteristics and by
dispensing with what would be mere
necessity in modern civilization.
Yet in spite of this emphatic language
the pro-Chinese advocates have sue
ceeded in spreading the current be-
lief that the distinguished Senator
came to the same conclusion as them.
selves.
1t has been supposed by many that
Chinese immigration has reached its
limit. But this is at varience with
what is plainly indicated by demon
strated facts. Although many Chin
ese return each Autumn to their own
country, still larger number make
their advent in the Spring; the an
nual surplus of immigrants over emf
grants being from eighteen thousand
to twenty-thousand, which insures d
constant increase of the Chinese pop
ulation. As already stated, the Chin.
csc constitute One-sixth of the people
of the State; their number being
about one hundred and fifty thousand
This is an average of various csti
mates, and is probably rather below
than above the number, inasmuch az
the Chinese are most ingenious ir
evading any accurate count. We
may here pause for a curious calcula
tion. There are only between five
and six thousand Chinese females in
the State; and the Cinnamon are
therefore, almost without exception,
men without families. Each one O.
them is inspected before leaving
China, with care equal to the in
spection of volunteers for active ser
vice in time of war. Without thil
they cannot be shipped. They arr
therefore healthy, active and endur
ing,-as much SO, probably, as thu
average military force of any country
AS concerns the white community
the number Of men fit to bear arm,
may be estimated by the same rul'
that obtains in European countries
which is one in five Of the total popu
lation. Therefore, Of the six hundred
thousand whites. there may b,
counted one hundred and twent,
thousand men capable Of actual ser
vice. From this it follows that in th,
number Of men fit to bear arms il
California to-day, China is twenty pc
cent. stronger than the United States
We may readily infer whether thi
proportion is likely to increase. whe,
re consider the low cost st which