The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-05-25
OUR CHINESE POLICY.

Believing on general principles that there
should be marked restriction on immi-
grafton, THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE is
strongly in favor of a rigid enforcement of
the Geary Act II is MOTTO the point to say
that the Chinese are peaceable, industrious,
and thrifty. They are, for all that, much
less desirable immigrants than some peoples
who are not so peaceable, industrious and
thrifty. All the Europeans are our first
cousins, in blood, and they can, as a rule, be
pretty readily worked over into American
citizens. OF course, there is a considerable
difference in this respect among immigrants
from different countries. English, Irish,
Scotch, Dutch, Germans and Scandnavians
are much more readily converted into
Americans than Bohemians, Poles, Span
iards, Russians, and Italians They have
been reared under institutions very like
ours. Their ideas Of justice, of Government,
and of society resemble ours much more
than they differ from them. This is not so
true of the other peoples whom we have
enumerated. The ideas of the Southern
Europeans differ very markedly from those
of the Northern Europeans, with whom ours
are closely allied. On the other hand,
Chinese ideas are Numerically opposed
to everything European and American. To
make Chinaman an American it is
necessary to turn topsy-turvy his entire
education, while to make European an
American it is only necessary to modify and
enlarge his previous ideas. Then, there are
more people in China than in the whole of
Europe, and there is a stronger reason why
they should want to come to this country.
In short, we must keep the Chinese ont or
be utterly submerged by them. From their
40O,0O0000 of population they can, within
a decade, send enough immigrants here to
overwhelm the European and American
elements and make this country entirely
Chinese in character. From her teeming
population China could send more people
than the entire population of this country,
and yet scarcely miss them.
The people who now live in this country
have, at infinite cost to themselves, built it
up to the most prosperous Nation i'll the
world. Animated by the hope of making
' IL col,
aud their children, they have fought, suf-
fered, labored and endured as never people
did before in the history of the world.
Within certain limits we are willing that
its benefits and blessings should be shared
by other peoples. But certainly we cannot
think of giving up what has cost us so
much to hordes Of aliens-aliens in blood,
religion, education and thought.
There is no reason why we should sacri-
flee our country to make homes for these
people. The United States is very small
portion of the earih's surface. There is
more almost unoccupied land in Asia than
the NHDit area Ol IUe DDlIeu OtaIeS. j mere
is nearly three times as much in South
America, while Africa is four times as large
as this country. Let these people go to one
of those countries and conquer homes for
as we had to do in America.
The talk about expelling Americans from
China in retaliation is idle Except few
the only Americans in China
are in the five great seaports, where they
are engaged in merchandising Hong Kong,
where most of them are, and which does the
principal business with China, is British
island and under the complete control of
that Government.
As for the missionaries they would do
better at home, where there is abundance of
work for them.