The broad ax., 1900-09-01

cause, In addition 10 the econcmiI
pressure common to all the poor, h,
viii have to struggle against twC
hundred years Of race prejudice.
The foregoing observations arc mad,
upon prevalent general conditions
but there are some special condition:
just now confronting the American
people full of interest to all NJ US
but especially so to the NeGro.
Apparently we are about 20 incor-
porate some ten millions of brown
people into our industrial system II
is of no consequence whether OIL
new subjects shall come to this
country or labor for our capitalists
upon their own native soil-thc re
suit will be the same. American Ia
Dor will be compelled to compete with
Asiatic labor and upon such terms
that the Asiatic standard II wages
and living must more and more pre-
vail all over the industrial world
The search of plutocracy for cheap
labor in fifty years past has success
sively discovered the Irishmen, the
German. the Pole. the Hungarian, the
Italian and finally the Russian-Jew.
is now about to find the swarmIng
millions OF Asiatic coolies.
The British experiments in !ndia
are a fair index of what may je ex-
pected. British capitalists have de-
veloped India wheat and it has ruin
ed the British farmer; they developed
India cotton raising and manufacture
and already the British weaver is
feeling the pangs of such a hopeless
competition. The open door," so
glibly talked about by Secretary Hay,
swings both ways. Let American
capital go in and the products of
cooley labor will certainly come out
and such labor will fix the price OF
other labor in every quarter of the
world.
But we have no guaranty that the
coolies. themselves, will not come to
America On the contrary there is
every reason to believe that they will
come They, themselves. will desire
to come from obvious interest; and(
Just as obviously, American mill,
mine and railroad owners will want
them to come. Even now a phenome-
nal migration Of japanese is pouring
into Washington and Oregon-some
five thousand a month-the mere be-
ginning of an endless tide. Will the
American people be able to shut the
gates? Yes, IL they are able to de-
feat plutocracy at the polls next No
vember-not otherwise!
This threatened invasion is a seri-
Gus thing to all our people but espec-
tally so to the Negro. At least ninety
per cent Of the colored labor OF the
country is unskilled and casual-that
is, the great majority of Negroes
work at the jobs which are most &C
common labor Of various
kinds: and it is precisely there that
the Asiatic will commence. All Of our
people will have to meet the COOLEY,
directly or indirectly; but the Negro
will have to meet him first and face
to face.
It will be no easy ordeal. The col
ored American has always been accus-
toned to a liberal regimen; and. for
forty years past, he has increasingly |
aspired to live as his white neighbors
live To meet in the labor market an
oriental who has been used to living
upon mere fragments Of the slightest
and cheapest character will be a
struggle which mere gunpowder can
not express.
The Democratic party is opposed to
having cooley subjects, cooley labor
md cooley immigrants. We want to
let 90 Of the brown man just as quick
y as we honorably can-both for his
AXE and ours. We want to qui. the
empire business, reduce our army to
peace footing, repeal the war taxes.
discharge our carpetbaggers, reafirm
,ur loyalty to the Declaration of In
dependence and again commence
ninding our own business.
The Republican party wants the ex-
ct opposite of these things; and it
Gems to me that a Negro of ordi-
lary intelligence ought to haze no
Iificulty in finding a path for him
elf through the present political
angle. If he shall study only, the
hirty years behind him he alay sup
ort the Republican party; il he
hall forecast thirty years before him
e viii be Democrat.