Evening star., 1901-11-22
EXCLUDE THE HEATHEN
AMERICAN LABOR SHOULD NOT BE
swAMPED BY YELLOW PERIL.
Danger I'm Chinese ImmigratfOn-
Geary Law Should BE Re-Enact-
ed Upon It's Expiration.

Henry George, jr., in Philadelphia North American
The fact that President Roosevelt has
taken up for serious consideration the
| brief on Chinese exclusion submitted by
Samuel Gompers in the name OF MS Or
ganization of a million workingmen, the
American Federation of Labor, and also
in behalf of all other workingmen in the
United States, gives promise that the mat
ter will receive early attention. The fact
also that a re-enactment of the exclusion
law is advocated by the commissioner gen.
eral of immigration, T. V. Powderly, who
was general master workman of the
knights of Labor when that body was at
the height of it's power, and when the first
exclusion act under President Arthur's ad-
ministration was passed in 1882, and again
when the Geary continuing act was passed
during President Harrison's administration
in 1892, adds to the probability OF the
Presidents recommendation of the law for
repassage. What John Mitchell did In his
speech at Wilkesbarre on Mitchell day a
fortnight ago-warn the great body OF the
United Mine Workers of the expiration OF
the Geary act-is what most of the labor
leaders over the country are doing just
now, and those who are not familiar with
the affairs of the trade union world, ana
do not think this to workingmen is an i'm
portant matter, are likely before long TO
have surprise.
Yet this is not a trade union question per
Sc; that is, it is not a question which alone
interests trade unionists. In the west, at
least, and on the Pacific coast especially,
it is a question that stirs the whole popu-
lation, and which would stir all the peo-
pie of all the country if the Chinese should
overspread the United States. Late in the
seventies a great workinSmens political
party suddenly came into existence, and in
.;,, Of hn 1aCS iYN,-
portant towns elected most of the candi-
dates it nominated for public Office. The
rallying cry was, 1.-The Chinese must go"
That cry, or rather the movement of the
body of the people behind that cry, forced
Congress to pass the first exclusion act in
the early eighties, and to see to its re-
enactment, with strengthening clauses In
1852. In 1879, at a popular referendum,
California cast 154, ,63S votes against Chi
nese immigration and SIS votes for it, and
in 1880 in Nevada 5,114 votes were cast
against and thirteen votes for. This rep
resented the sentiment of the whole west
coast and what the sentiment was then it
is now. The reasons that argued against
the admission of the Chinese then are just
as strong today.
Approaching the question from the out
side, nothing could seem to be more in ac-
cord with common sense than that this
question of Chinese immigration is in no
way different from the question of the
immigration of any other peoples of the
world who have In the past come or who
now seek our shores in large numbers. If
1t be right in principle and in accord with
public policy to admit Pole or a Hun
garian or a Slav or an Italian or any one
OF the many nations of men, great numbers
of whom come to the United States to bet
ter their condition, why not also as freely
admit Chinaman, who likewise comes to
better his condition? To the man who
looks no farther, that is all that the mat
ter involves; and seeing difference between
the European and the Asiatic, he says he
cannot see why the Geary act should be
continued.
Comparison of Immigrants.
But let US take a. closer look at the mat
ter. In the first place, are the Chinese
the same as immigrants from other parts
of the world? Anyone who has had expe-
rience among them, who has lived in towns
or in localities where large numbers of
them congregated, must know that
they are not; and most persons who have
had such experience will unhesitatingly say
that the difference is very marked.
Take the mass of Poles, Hungarians or
other European immigrants. What brings
them here? The hope of finding a new
home, a new country, a place where they
shall spend their lives, where they shall
marry or give in marriage, where they shall
raise their children. America is to them
what that new land to which Moses led
the way was to the Israelites-"the land
of promise" They do not, as whole or
as any considerable part, dream of coming
here for short time to make fortunes and
then return to their native land to spend
the rest of their days. Their desire is to
throw in their lot in a country where it
is easier to make "a living than in their ma
tive European land, where there is univer-
sal manhood suffrage, where there is no
military persecution, where there is free
dom of the press and freedom of the laws
They come here to become American citi-
zens, and among their greatest solicitude
Is the wish to have their children learn the
common tongue of the country. Here the
Old-world prejudces that keep walls be-
tween peoples or arm men with guns which
they use against each other are forgotten
The Frenchman and the German, the Irish
man and the Englishman, the Austrian and
the Italian, the Turk and the Russian for
get their century-old feuds in the more
generous and peace-lOving conditions of
their new common country and the inter-
marriage of their children. Religious diff
ferences that for hundreds of years bathed
Europe in the bloodiest of bloody wars,
and which even now is one of the chief
causes of national animosities there, are
allayed here in the commonly respected
right of each to follow unmolested and
unqueStioned his own form of Worship
This is the common country, and one reason
of its extraordinary growth in population
from oOOO,OoO at the opening of the nine
teenth century to more than 10000 900 at
its close, was that millions of men and wo-
men came from Europe to settle them
selves ana their progeny forever within our
borders, and be homogeneous and insep-
arabic part of our nation.
Chinese NOn-Assimilable.
Now, look at the Chinese They are a
distinct type of men. They differ In color
from the rest of the people of this country
in that the one belongs to the white or
Caucasian division, the other to the yellow
or Mongolian. This would not be an insur-
mountable barrier if the Chinese would
like the Japanese, also family of the yell
low race, assimilate with us. The Japan
ese nation has adopted the European or
western civilization. 1t has changed its
form of government, it's code of laws, Its
system of education, it's ways of living
its methods of manufacturing, of travelling
Its habits of dress, and to large extent its
religious ideals, to conform with those of
the peoples of the European or American
continents. do not pretend to say whether
in this the Japanese have or have not lost
anything by thus casting off their old ma
tonal civilization. with all it's to us
strange characteristics. That need not be
considered here. The point to be observed
is that these Japanese, in doing as they
have done, have made themselves assim-
| liable here Japanese man in the United
States is man who has an extreme eager
ness to learn all that can be learned of our