The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-07

Prominent Republican leaders are in
| favor of anuulling the laws which keep
| Chinese laborers out of this country.
| They say that the Chinese have proved
! themselves much better citizens than the
ignorant Europeans flooding the United
| States, and they believe that there is no
| longer an excuse for barring them. 1t is
not unlikely that the Administration will
try to repeal the law at the coming ses-
sion of Congress.
| Assistant Secretary H. A. Taylor. of the
| Treasury Department. who has direct
| charge of enforcing the immigration laws,
| thinks that the proposed change could be
made to good advantage.
There is now no need for the Chinese
| Exclusion law" he said to a Times re-
| porter. 1T was good enough piece
| of legislation when it was passed, but
| there is no longer a rush of Chinese
| coolies to this county, and the causes
| which made the law necessary have ceas-
ed. l should like to see it abolished, SO
| that the Mongols ceLId enter on the same
| terms as any other foreigners At the
| same time, mind you, | should raise the
| qualifications demanded of all immi
| grants, for | think that our present laws
are too lax. We get some of the worst
peoples in all the Old World here and the
| Treasury officials cannot prevent their
1 entrance so long as the statutes remain as
| they now are.
| Il an. disposed to doubt, however, that
| any measure doing away with the Chinese
| Exclusion law can be passed at the COM
| ing session of Congress. which is a short
| term sure to be crowded with all kinds
| of bills.
"Tl.,. hatred which! was formerly felt
! for the Celestials on the Pacific Coast
! has largely passed away The Chinese
| have proven themselves a most valuable
| and necessary laboring element. Today
| they are more desired than white men
! for many classes of work, and command
higher wages. Fruit men and gar ieners.
who are looking for the best workmen
| to be had, take the Chinese in prefer
| ence to native Americans. The same thing
| is true as to e~Chinamen employed as
| domestics in households.
The only objection to them seems to
/ be that they stay here merely long
| enough to get stake before going back
\ to China to settle. They accumulate q
| few thousand dollars, and take the money
| out of the country. They are, however,
! obedient, law abiding people, who are al
most never heard of as giving offence to
| their white neighbors Certainly | should
| rather have a Tot of Chinese in the COM
| munity than the scum OF lower Italy or
]
past few years
This alleged purpose of Administration
| leaders to let the Cinnamon into this
country again is certain to cause the most
| intense interest ali over the West where
the Mongols now have a footing. The
move has unusual Importance Just al this
time when the President has committed
himself to ,estorfng the Dowager Empress
to the throne of the Celestial Kingdom
y f- ne1a Cd hat par
of the Pacific Coast States will be prevailed
upon by party leaders TO introduce n bill
in Congress repeating the present exclu-
sion laws Administration heads think
that the effect IA the country would be
better were the move TO proceed from
Western man in close touch with the Chi
nese situation. Up to the present time no.
body has been found who stands ready to
Introduce such repeating measure The
search OF the party leaders for Western
er who will consent TO sponsor a law OF
that kind promises to be hard one. Ha-
tired for tho Chinese Is still a tenet in tho
minds Of laboring men all over the Pacific
Coast They have had 80 much competition
with rice eating Mongols willing to work
for 50 cents day., that any effort to re-
peal the old Geary Law would be certain
TO arouse a hornets nest
A Puget Sound man who Is intimately ac-
quainted with conditions as they are now
along the Pacific Coast. said yesterday:
THE Republicans will find themselves
badly damaged should they carry out this
attempt to foist Cinnamon upon the coun-
try again. Nothing could be done now
which would arouse greater antagonism
among Western people. They know what
the Chinese are and they know what i
curse they are to any region which they
infest. No Pacific Coast man except the
heads OF the big corporations looking for
the cheapest labor TO be had would ever
consent to a return 70 old conditions. Such
move would paralyze white labor all
along the Coast. The Chinese have forced
themselves INTO every trade. They are tai
Tors, cobhlers, bCtchers. restaurant keep
ers, merchants, printers, carpenters, over
all makers, cooks, gardeners, fishermen.
fruit growers. sectlon men-everything i'm
aginable. in short, and in every line they
work for half what the honest white peo-
pie In the country can afford TO receive.
THE greatest harm they do. OF course,
is that they make 1t impossible for decent
workingmen to live In the same communi-
ty. But their blight is felt also by white
merchants and business men. The Chinese
of the Coast have community all OF their
own. Everything they eat and wear and
use is shipped to them from the Orient,
and no white merchant can hope to sell
them anything. Finally when they have
accumulated few thousand dollars they
take 1t back to China with them. and their
going ends one individual leech who has
sucked all the blood possible from this
country before dropping back again into
the Orient.
80 Secretary Taylor says that the Ex-
cluslon law IL needed no longer since the
Chinese are not coming here now. Isn't
his logic a little bit mixed? II the Chi
nese are not coming here In such hordes
as they did before the passage OF the law.
It is merely because they cannot get in
now. Repeal the law and they will fairly
food the whole Pacific Coast again. Even
now the Mongols are smuggling themselves
into this country every day. They come
chiefly over the line from Mexico and from
British Columbia and all the carefalness
in the world is not able TO keep them en-
tirely OUT
The Chinese Exclusion law was orisi-
nally framed by Representative Geary OF
California and was approved on May 6.
1892. 1t was result OF the intense trou-
bles that had grown up along the Pacific
Coast over the Chinese cooie labor then
flooding the country. It provided that for
ten years the coming OF Chinese laborers
into this country was suspended. In May.
1899. under the Cleveland Administration
all existing exclusion laws were continued
in force for period OF ten years. All the
exclusion laws were ratified under Presi-
dent Cleveland on December 7. 1894, when
q treaty was arranged between this coun-
try and China. giving America power to
exclude Chinese subjects coming to this
country as laborers.
RALLY AT GAINESVILLE.