Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-01-05
THE CHINESE PROBLEM.
Conference Between Members of the state
Board of Trade and Federated Trades.

bcaru Oh trade and Federated Trades.
An informal conference took place yes.
terday in the rooms of the State Board o.
Trade between VIM. II. Mills and ]. @
Brown, representing that organization, and
c. ]. J. Smith and NJ. McGlynn, represent.
ing the Federated Trades. The meeting
had been called for o'clock in the after.
noon, but it was not until 3 o'clock that the
trades representatives put in an appear.
ance. Mr.: Mills then explained that what.
ever talk they would have must be entirely
informal, inasmuch as The regular meeting
of the Board would not take I lace until
Tuesday.
AIR. Smith stated that the Federated
Trades was anxious to thoroughly ventilate
the labor situation in California. 1t is the
opinion OF that organIza ZION. he said. that
1t IS not necessary to import more Chinese
labor here; that there is enough white
labor III the State TO pick all the fruit. He
had just returned from the country. and
found, after conversation with farmers, that
there is consensus of opinion that n O more
Chinese should be imported here.
All are anxious for desirable character
of white labor and the Federated Trades
would like TO cooperate with the State
Board OF Trade in any action to this effect.
MIR. Mills responded in behalf of the
Board. The Federated Trades had not no.
tilted the Board of their desire for confer.
ence, consequently there were but few
members present. He invited the lab, r
representatives to be present at the meet
ing OF the Executive Committee on next
tuesday, when some formal action could
be taken. On that occasion several mem
bers Of the State Board of Agriculture
would be present, and this would give an
admiral opportunity for the thorough dis.
cussion of the labor problem. Continuing
Mr.. Mills said that Mr. Smith spoke as
though there was possibility of the re-
peal OF the Exclusion Act. He asked if
there was any movement to that effect.
Mr.. Smith said there had been a great
deal OF talk IL the Examiner about the Chi
nese. He had no positive information that
any attempt would be made to repeal the
Scott bill. Fruit-growers have been ex-
pressing their views on this subject, and the
tendency of their statements has been to
the effect that there are not Chinese enough
here.
Mr.. McGlynn said the position the Fed
Grated Trades desired to assume was to as
sist the State Board in improving the treat
ment accorded to laborers on farms; also
cooperate in building up the State. So
long as white men were ill-fed and i'll
treated they would manifest no desire for
ranch labor.
Mr.. Mills asked to what extent it would
be possible to relieve the agricultural labor
by means of mechanical labor. In France
for instance the cultivation of the orchards
requires much less labor than does the
of the fruit.
Mr.. McGlynn said that the main CUES
ton was whether the white labor. if sum-
piled. would obtain better treatment than
that accorded it in the past. In regard to
the mechanical proposition, he believed
that II the mechanics knew that thew could
lind work at certain periods of the wear
some of them would seize the opportunity.
Mr.. Mills said he believed that it wouId
be possible eventually to obtain from the
East higher class of labor than that hith-
erto available. The best character of labor
is that which is self-respecting and honest
and which will make its employers inter-
est its own. An effort had been made to
obtain this labor and steps had been taken
to that effect. Mr.. Estee had made report
on the subject. This action had been de-
nounced by the Federated Trades.
Mr.. McGlynn said the Federated Trades
objection to the further importation of
skilled labor here was that there is suffi-
GENTLY large supply available al present.
-%NAS ~ 80 "oy q ioA SCl supply vi SkllieQ
labor than the demand to such an extent
is this the case at present that skilled
laborers are compelled to resort for work to
labor that requires no skill.
Mr.. Smith made few remarks about the
of Chinese labor. If the Ex-
clusion Act proved effective, he believed
that great deal of white labor would i'm
migrate here. He suggested the use of
negro labor.
Mr.. McGlynn said: "In the Eastern
States the hired man is member of the
family. Across the Mississippi the hired
man has his own quarters. The conse.
quence is that it Is easy to obtain educated
labor in the East, while in the West it is
physically impossible to induce boy to
go on farm
Mr.. Mills said that one of the purposes of
the State Board of Trade is to induce men
to go into the country and to cultivate the
soil. 1t wanted also to increase the pro-
prietary interests of California, and this
was best brought about by inducing a good
class of immigration. The conference then
Until Tuesday.
The Exclusion Act.
A dispatch from New York of the Sd
instant says: Coils P. Huntington, through
A. A. Low, asked the Chamber of Com
merce to-day to favor the amending or
abrogation of the Chinese exclusion bill.
Huntington, in long letter, protested
that the bill is injurious to the commercial
relations OF the two countries. Huntington
does not believe that honest people in
America are opposed to the Chinese trade,
which, he says, is falling off with China
because of the bill, and besides there is no
good reason why China should not retaliate.
In that event, he adds, American trade.
now drifting to England and other powers,
would be altogether lost.
Huntington further says that the meas
ure was the result Of partisan pressure and
political device.
lis not this" he continues, a heavy
price to pay for the luxury of the heodlum
vote of California? For 1 believe the
hostility to the industrious China
men is limited TO California, where the