The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-11-30
THE WORCESTER SPY, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30 1901

religion. color and nationality. That
door should be kept open to the men
who are anxlousao escape from the I'M
Just and unprogressive governments OF
either hemispheres to make home in
the United States.
We believe that the dread Of the
yellow peril" is foolish and unneoes-
sary. We do not object to restrictions
as to education or character. but we
do object to restrictions that bar all
Chinese, Just as we would object to
restrictions that would bar all Eng
fish or all Irish or all French or all
Syrians from entering this country.
We have in this country a minister
from China, a man who speaks in
English, one of the finest orators in
this country. q man of broad, liberal
ideas. of high personal character, who
is welcome at any dinner and in any
company. He IS not a phenomenon
among his people, any more than
Chauncey Depew is among our people.
We think that we are right in stating
that there is no American qualified to
make in China the same impression
upon the Chinese by his ability to talk
to them in their own tongue, to see
things from their point of view, that
this wonderful man has made here.
Few Americans ever learn to speak
Chinese, few can realize their Chinese
point of view or can appreciate their
civilization, their veneration for their
ancient customs. After the brutal ex-
hibition of last year, we have no right
as a nation, and no European country
has a right TO proclaim the Chinese
less human and more barbarous than
Caucasians. We are out of sympathy
and out of understanding with China
and her people. That is it. There is
an antagonism of race. The blame is
not all to be laid upon the Chinaman.
If we are to set up the Chinese eX-
clusion act again, now that We have
under our care and ownership terri
tory having thousands of Chinese citi-
zens, what shall be done about them?
Are we to refuse the Cinnamon of
Hawaii and the Philippines their right
to move from one part of our republic
to another? Must the Chinese citizen
(for there must be citizenship kept
open for them in some of these foreign
lands that we have recently acquired)
be placed upon a lower grade than even
=, hayr
disgraced ourselves for the past fifteen
years by a law that stamps upon the
Chinaman the charge that he is lower
and more degraded than any other
race. We have picked out the China
man as the victim of this law, which
was originally passed for low political
motives, which we hope and believe no
longer exist.
That there is a fear in California that
the Chinese might spread over the
country is true. Any seaboard city
must expect to suffer somewhat in any
country that is receiving immigrants.
Does not New York city suffer con-
stantly for the benefit of the rest of
the country? Is it any worse to re-
ceive Chinese immigrants than the vile,
dirty, foul-smelling and evii-appearing
! immigrants that are poured into New
YORK ctty-every day of-the year; but,
we are proud to say, are assimilated
largely in the East and Northwest and
made into useful citizens.
/ Every able-bodied man who works
for his living, whether he is Chinese, a
negro or white, is a benefit to the
country at large. We do not believe
in ffty-cent men. We do not believe
there is a danger in this country from
the Chinese. The better Chinese would
demand the. prevailing rate of wages
if they settled here permanently
The Spy does not believe that alb
stract principles of right and justice
which certainly operate in this case in
favor of treating the Chinaman like
the Japanese, the Russian or any other
nationality, should be followed if it
means injury to the commonwealth.
We care more for the future of the
United States and her people than we
90 Tor Ine rest OF the word, ana even
if some injustice is done the rest Of
the world by erecting barriers that will
shut out some people from the benefits
within this country, still we believe
that protective tariff laws and proper
immigration laws are morally justif-
able. But we cannot believe that the
United States would suffer from re-
ceiving a few thousands or a few
tens of thousands of educated and am
bitious Chinese citizens.