The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1888-08-30
Judge Thurman Oh Chi
nese Immigration,
And Oh Sympathy for Labor
ing Glasses.

And Oh Sympathy for Labor
ing Glasses.
"I do not think that large
Chinese immigration TO this
country is desirable. l do not
think it would be a valuable ac-
QUESTION. On the contrary, /
think it would be seriously dis
turblng element. In race, clvili
cation, habits, education and re-
liglon the Chinese are widely diff
ferent from our people. So dif
ferent rs TO form
A VERY STRIKING CONTRAST.
The European em,grants are of
the same race. religion and CIV
illzation as onrs, and. while they
add immensely to the power and
wealth of The Republic, they do
not seriously disturb the sub
stantial homogenity of our white
population. Their importation.
therefore, benefits the country
and deserves encouragement
Not so with the Chinese. They
will never become one people
with MS. Were they 10 dwell
here for centuries they would
probably be as far distant from
the white race as are the gypsies
in Spain from the pure blooded
Spaniards. We are destined to
have a great commerce with Asia
and the natural result will be the
voluntary emigration from that
continent of a limited number OF
business men. see no objection
TO that. 1t will not interfere
with our mechanics or laborers
Will not disturb our social or pO-
litical system. while II will tend
bv an increase of our commercial
| connections, to add to our COM
merce and wealth. But that is II
wholly different thing from the
Coolie emigration that is now 60
ing on. and which, ifno stopped,
| must alarmingiy increase. This
emigration is in no proper sense
of the word voluntary. 1t Is a
kind of Chinese slave trade. In
stead of an independent. self-re.
liant body of freemen. it intro
duces a herd Of quasi slaves
working at half wages by COM
mand of a taskmaster. And this
leads me to notice a statement
that | have seen that this coun-
try needs cheap labor-in other
| words, men who will work for
low wages. That there is
4 SCARCITY oN LABoRERs
here, and therefore Chinese la
borers should be Imported 30 sup.
ply the deficiency. | do not con-
cur in this view. Applause.
| My opinion is that we, or rather
our poster'ty, are much more
likely to suffer from redun-
darcy of population than from a
dearth of it. In thirty years from
now we will have 100, 100000
people. without counting a Chi
! nese Immigrant in sixty years,
200. COO 600; in a hundred years,
proba bly, 4O0,eOO.000. We are in
no danger of a scarcity of labor
ers. Nor do 1 think that low
wages are a blessing to any conn
try. Renewed applause] In the
opinion of an eminent thinker
Rucke-low wages and despotlsm
are inseparable. 1t will be found,
I think, that the freer the insti-
tutions of the country are the
greater will be the tendency to
fair wages for laborers. Low
wages are mainly owing to an
unequal and unfair distribution
of the annual production OF
wealth. This annual production,
which is one of the results of la
Dor. is being continually divided
into four parts rents 10 the land
lord, interest to the money lend.
or, profits to the business man,
and wages to the laDorer. Now
if the wages are low. it must be
because the annual product ls
small, and all classes suffer be-
cause that product Is
UNFAIRLY DISTRIBUTED.
In general the latter is the
case, and when wages are very
| low the laborer gets but bare
subsistence, while the other class.
or some of them. accumulate
enormous wealth. And thus So
ciety becomes divided into the
very rich and the very poor
That this is an unfortunate con
ditlon for the country Is too OBJ
vious TO need remark. And that
this tendency is peculiar to free
institutions, as we'll as the ma
terial comfort of the people, is
undoubtedly true. | have there
fore no sympathy with the cry
for cheap labor and low wages.
They may give rise, it is true, TO
great public works and magnili-
cent structures, but the benefit is
gained at the expense of a suffer
ing people. The pyramids are
striking monuments of the pride
and ostentations of kings, but
they are more striking evidences
of a degraded condition OF the