Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-01

=EGE[L
SIXTY CHINAMEN IN ONE ROOM
white workingmen particularly. De-
tween you and me. good reader, 1t
was largely the cry Of the demagogue.
Scratch a property holding Californian
today, and ten to one you will find
him quietly. but none the less positively,
. pro- Chinese man. He will shout anti
Chinese with tho best Of them for b,isi-
ness, political or other prudential rca-
sons. but he knows and will admit to
intimate friends that Chinese labor has
been the making Of California, and that
without it the state would not have
been what she Is in this year Of our
Lord 1889. The lands that have been
reclaimed, the grapes that have been
harvested, the railroads that have been
built and the wines and fruits exported,
are the result Of tho plodding, uncom-
planning, industrious and poorly paid
John Chinaman. You might as well say
that the South Atlantic states should do
away with the services Of the negro as
that the Pacific slope should Danish the
almond eyed Celestial. Today, even, they
are necessities; not creatures merely held
on sufferance. They can do and will do
what the white man cannot and should
mot. They are the scavengers of the cities,
the safety Of the country. There ale
times in the vineyards, the hop fields, the
fruit groves, that thousands Of men are
necessary at once, for week or two
weeks, say month, in the year. For
lat time are they needed. and only then
T1ite men could not exist on one months
un in twelve, but the Chinese can. It
60 be perplexing problem to solve
the California grapes and fruits, casl.
ag Oo'ses; start,elfhoGlina is no
luck, screaming of ! Carney today ON
birdysing OF wildSs jghfare that is
higtp irom some sa the late general.
ce which orator is little down at
ne dee,At present, but he is blatant
j ALL Dold as ever. "What should
we do with them?" he said angri-
y In answer to my question;
''throw 'em in the sewer; they're no
earthly good. II they were not here.
white men could have employment and
this country would be populated by
Christian and Caucasian workers. Put
the Chinese out altogether, and there
would flock from the east an army Of
white laborers who would be q credit 10
the state, who would be the consumers
~ well as tho producers, which the
Chinese are not; who would spend
their money where they earned it, which
the Chinese do not; who would improve
society, not degrade it. and who wouli
help the general cause Of humanity
Now this argument of Dennis Kearney
Is the regulation argument Of the day.
f.G1rhaps 1t Is the strongest side Of tie
"a e; It is certainly the most popular.
But the interesting fact remains, that
thus far no ono has been discovered who
can fill the bill, who can take the place
OF tho heather, for with him tho coun
try has been developed and agriculture
and viticulture made profitable. With
out him it would be an .mpossibility.
Mark you. please. this letter is not an
argument for the Chinese. Far from it.
It is beautiful dictum and most ac.
ceptable one, that this glorious country
n for the Caucasian, not the Mongolian
Tor the Christian, not the Pagan; for the
brightness of American progress, not
for the darkness of Chinese superstition.
Heaven speed the day that it may come
30 pass, but we must look at things as
ayaey are. not as We would wish them tc
ON. And in things as they are we find
~ pig tail very large, important and
iuss" S-r,arn, al~ element in California
life. II you wouIa see the Chinaman at
his best and worst, you HIT. ioo,,;; him
over in his own house in San Francisco.
have seen him in his haunts night and
day; In the cool of the evening and il
the bright light of the morning, and
know him fairly well. Within a com
pact area Of twelve blocks is Chinatowr
here located, and yet within that ares
nearly 10000 Celestials live, or rathe,
exist They herd together like rats, and
their mode of living is little above
the animal The Chinese Joss houses,
theatre. restaurants. opium joints
and gambling hells have been frequently
described. but they can give little idea OF
the rocking depravity Of the place. For
two or three dollars guide will take a
couple through the entiro town. and the
excursion takes from in the evening
'Sve IA the morning. 1t Is all fear.
,aer. ou Ire. but the white man or woman
line: ..ted with marked respect, and can
"D anywhere without fear Of robbery or
rphysical ham. In one three story build
ing 500 Cinnamon will live, the rooms
being arranged like the forecastle OF a
ship. In tiers Of hunks one set above an
other. One large room is for eating, an
other for cooking, and all the surround
ings, while more or less clean. are dark,
dingy and barren. The Celestials fairly
swarm Ia these places. and their heathen-
IN jabber is puzzle. The theatre is the
place 70 see John Chinaman at his ease.
kholds about 1000 and is densely packed
nighs after aight The visiting white Is
allowed TO sit On the stage. The play
usually Lasts for three or four weeks. and
= Given In sections Of two or three