The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-05
WU TING FANG ERRS.
Americans Understand the Chinese
 Question and China's Minister

Philadelphia North American.
 Minister Wu Ting Fang is always in- ter esting, often amusingly candid in criticism, if not in statement, and ever willy special pleader for his own peo- pie. No European diplomat would ven ture half so far in scolding us as the Chinese Minister goes without arousing any resentment.
 But while we can take his shrewd thrusts good naturedly and even enjoy some of his palpable hits, it is well to be on guard against Wu Ting Fang's se- rious attacks. His plea for suspension of our policy of exclusion is less ingenous than ingenious, and he does not state facts when he says the Geary law does gross injustice to the merchants and students of China by practically debarr- Ing them, from America.' He says we are "prejudced and unreasonable" that the American people do not understand the Chinese question properly without discrimination in favor of the classes against the masses;' that the Chinese would not come here in large numbers if they could, and he denies that Chinese coolie labor hurts the American work ingman
 Tho Geary law clearly eXempts off cials, merchants, teachers. students and travellers" and thus does discriminate in favor of the classes. They are not debarred from America, either theQretlc- ally or practically, IS Minister Wu knows perfectly we'll He complains thAt the interpretation put upon the law by inn migration officials makes it almost inn possible for these people to get in, even though equipped with all the require- ments of the law. The truth IS that thousands of coolies have attempted to slip in as students or merchants and that some thing more than strict in depreciation of the law has been Iound necessary to keep them out. One party of eighty presented at San Franclsco "studen-S " certificates signed by the Portugese consul at Macao, and every man in the lot Was a cooie under con tract as laborcr. The Pacific mail dock in San Francisco has been crowded TOT | months at a time with cooles armed with students merchants certincates whom the officials had detected and or dered deported. The transportatlon com panies Knowingly aid and encourage these frauds for the sake of the prohts in passage money, and the Government has to watch them as closely as IL watches the Chinese. If genuine stu dent or merchant gets caught in such company once in a while 1t is hls 1ault and not the laws
 Minister Wu can hardly expect the American people to admit that a5ter ,to if quarter of a century of study and halt a century of practical experiment, they do not understand the Chinese queS- ton. California understands 1t thorough ly to her sorrow. The American people also understand Minister Wu rather bet ter than he thinks they do. and they do not overlook his argument that ul- restricted Chinese immigration would Illdhd DuSlItSsi AOA SttdihSAAP railways" They may be 'prejudiced against his people, but this happens to be their country, and they have the | right to keen it for themselves ana tnglr | descendants-c better right than MT Wus government had to order our dlp- lomatic representatives out of Pekln.
 But Minister Wu hits upon the kernel of the whole question when he says: 1 Probably If We adopted your methods, | your habits and mode of living there would be nothing said about our pres ence."
 That sums up the objections of Amer ! ica to Chinese immigration. The emma
 man cannot and will not adopt Am rlcih
 modes of living American family nap
 it's. American standards of conduct Tn m private life or public citizenship. ne ne
 cannot become a part of the American F people. and therefore Is an tndu tfllI,
 p.Aucal and moral misft and a source l of danger to the republic. We canno!
 infect our system with the yellow pest
 even to oblige- s" engaging a gentleman
 as Minister Wu.