St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-04-24
PRESS COMMENTS.
The Force of Habit.

Force of habit is q great thing.
The Vermont democrats have issued
a call for state conventional Wash
ington Post.
The Present PerniciOns System.
When 1t appears that each con-
gresham undertakes to control APP
pOintmentS to about $50 offices, and
to look after about 100 applicants
for these positions, we can readily
see to what an extent the federal
patronage has come to interfere with
the duties which he has been elected
to perform On this question the re-
port of the special committee of the
National Civil Service league is Of
great interest. What can be expect
ed of a Congress in the way of legis
lation when one-third of the time of
its members is taken up in the dis
tracing and demoralizing work of
distributing patronage? 1t will be
seen that this committee recon-
mends the Lodge bill, which is de
scribed in the report. That, or al
most anything, is to be preferred to
the present system.-[Springfeld Re
publican.
A Chinanan at Niagara Bridge.
A Chinaman stayed upon Niagara
bridge from Thursday morning until
Friday land may be there yet be-
cause neither the United States nor
the Canada officials would allow
him to enter either country. The
case probably has no parallel 1t
seems that Thursday morning three
were hustled across the bridge by the
American officials as violators of the
Chinese exclusion act. Two were
admitted to Canadian soil, having
each a Canadian customs certificate;
but the third, without the necessary
papers or $50 to pay the requisite
tax, was sent back. The miserable
Mongolian was thus caught in a
trap, since the officials of neither
country would permit him to leave
the bridge. According to the dis
patches, the poor man is likely to re-
main an unwilling spectator of Mag
ara s grandeur for some time to come;
or until the governments at Wash
ingtOn and Ottawa can reach a COM
promise as to the disposition of the
poor mans body. Meanwhile he must
feed upon the superla tive beauties of
the scene on the bridge at midnight
unless some kind-hearted official
should take him a bite to eat. But
melancholy as his position is, it is
one of dignity fully equal to that
of this great nation Springfield
Republican.
The Chinese Census Bill.
We add our protest to others
against the Chinese census bill which
has passed the House of Representa-
tives and is now pending in the
United States Senate. This bill re-
quires the superintendent of the cen
sus to give to every Chinaman in the
country a certificate, which, after
ninety days from the date of the be-
ginning of the enumeration, shall be
the sole evidence of his right to re-
main in the United States, and in the
absence of which he shall be liable to
deportation or to imprisonment for
five years. We are glad to see that
the committee of the Senate proposes
to omit the clause making the right
of a Chinaman to remain in this
country dependent upon the certifi-
cate. But this is only a mitigation
of the wrong threatened by this bill
We do not deny the right of the ma
ton to sift out, or even to exclude
by proper legislation, immigrants
whose coming the nation believes to
be dangerous to its well-being. But
to select a certain class who have
come and put them under special re-
striction and requirements and rem
der them subjects to exile from the
land of their adoption for no crime
whatever, is an act wholly unjustifi-
able and wholly unworthy a great
nation Its difficult, indeed, to con-
ceive even a specious argument for
such Observation-Disclosures Union.