The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-03-05
OPPOSITION TO CHINESE.
Memorial Urging the Adoption OF
MItcheII's Exclusion Act.

A dispatch from Washington of Feb
ruary goth says: In behalf OF the Laun-
drvmen's National Association, Senator
Mitchell to-day presented their memorial
urging the exclusion of the Chinese
from this country. The memorial as
serts that there are 6 ,234 American laun-
dries in the United States, employing
90, 645 hands and paying them $29,217,
26O in wages annually, having $14,730,
600 capital employed, and doing an an
nual business of $65 ,027 300. 1t repre-
sents that from these blishments
emanate no immoral influences and
seeds of no physical, moral or religious
leprosy, but on the contrary, that they
are healthful factors in moral civilization
and an organization of American indus
try. The memorial says that the Chi
nese Empire, which was for many cen
turtles shut up as a vast empire of mon
strous political, social, moral and super
stitious propagation, appears now to be
Kidding itself of large surplus popula-
ton by strong organization formed to
cast the pernicious fruitage of its cor
rupt system upon our shores.
The association believes that the 250,
are but vanguard of an army to
come, unless the wise provisions OF the
Mitchell Chinese Exclusion bill are
adopted. 1t is stated that of the 100000
Chinese here, 1000 are laundrymen,
and their laundries to-day number 49,
973, more than double the number of
those conducted by Americans. They
employ no American help. Three-fOurths
of them are controlled by the Six Com
panies, whose agents exist in every ham
let in the land, making weekly collec-
tons from each laundry and reminding
those people, wherever they go, that
they are still the slaves of the Chinese
Government, as they are the hideOus
vices of that country. OF the $26, $685.
$40 which they draw annually from the
country, many millions are expended in
China for means to indulge in national
vices, and to hire slave labor to compete
with American laborers. Many of the
laundries are opium dens of the lowest
type. The 10000 wage women en-
ployed in American laundries might
have their number more than quad
rupled if these Chinese seed-beds OF
leprOsy could be closed. They assert
that the Chinese for economy sleep on
their customers washing. The econ
omy arguments, however, they say are
really trif1ing compared with the gross
immOralities which everywhere attend
them, and the pagan rites with which
they continually insult every Christian
sentiment The Chinese are declared to
be the one people from whom our
country has the least to hope and the
most to fear.
Attention is called to the fact that the
Chinese are rapidly spreading them
selves over all parts of the country, es-
pecially through the Atlantic seaboard,
where opposition to their coming is con-
stantly increasing as they become bet
ter known, and the East, it is said, is
wing with the West in demanding
their total exclusion.
The memorial concludes: "To avert
all these evils and dangers, therefore, we
solemnly pray you to grant the relief
herein which all classes of American
citizens are asking by adopting the
Mitchell Anti-Chinese BILL"
The memorial is signed: con behalf
of all American citizens and all Amer
lean institutions, as we'll as of the asso-
citation we represent" by Oliver Kreed
of Philadelphia, President; G. N. Carr
of Philadelphia, S. A. Bowden of Col
umbus, Ohio, G. H. Jewett of Salem,
Mass, and T. Syres of Louisville, KY.