Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-07-13
BARRING OUT CHINESE.
Efforts to Be Made to Render
the Law Effective.
AID OF WESTERN LABOR ENLISTED


of Protecting American working
men-Recent Method OF Eyading
the Lasv-Pay of Chinese Coolies.
Labor organizations have taken up
the agitation in favor Of renewal of
the terms of the Chinese exclusion act
when the provisions of the existing act
expire next April, says a Washington
dispatch to the st. Louis GlobeDemo-
crat. They have enlisted the help Of
commercial and other organizations on
the Pacific coast and hope to have well
developed sentiment relative to the act
by the time congress takes 1t up at Its
next session. There Is reason to be-
lieve that the movement will have the
support Of the government departments
which have been concerned In the en-
forcement of the exclusion act when
congress calls for report. The recon-
| mendations which will be made Will be
based on broad ground and will, 1t Is
expected. declare against any plan
which looks TO the modification of the
present laws.
The reports which have been made to
the effect that public sentiment ia the
country has undergone a change are
not credited at Washington. 1t is held
that the Chinaman presents as much of
a menace 10 the laboring man of the
United States at this time as he has
ever done in the past The government
has In the last two years done more TO
secure the rigid enforcement of the ex-
clusion act than 1t ever did in the pc
riod since the act went into effect. In
spite of this 1t Is admitted that perhaps
half of the Chinese population in the
United States Is here contrary to law
The plans and schemes which the
Chinese work to avoid the terms of the
act and secure entrance to the country
are remarkable. The most recent meth
cd of evasion is for the young China
man to claim that he was born in the
United States. is just returning from
abroad and wishes to join his father.
The agents of the government have
been kept busy tracing these alleged
relations to establish their falsity. In
the course of Investigations they have
discovered that a well organized clique
of professional fathers" exists in the
far west. Men in the employ of one of
the big Chinese companies have no diff
fculty in discovering parents for any
Chinnman desiring to enter. The gov
eminent has had to adopt the method
of lighting fire with fire." or, more
correctly, catching China amen with
Cinnamon" 1t now has large number
of secret service operatives who are
Cinnamon.
In making recommendations to con.
gress there is reason to believe that the
department cannot furnish any state
ment which will indicate that the Chi
nese are an undesirable class of immi
grants because Of vicious or bad habits
An entirely different tack will be taken
as 1t will be pointed out that the very
| habits of thrift and Industry which the
Cinnamon have will constitute the
menace 10 the workingmen of the Unit
ed States. With the development of the
trade with the Philippine Islands our
oriental neighbors will be brought clos
or to us. fhey viii learn more of the
possibilities of this country IL is ex
pected there will be greater desire
among the Chinese to come to the Unit
cd States. 1t viii be suggested to con
gress that race hatred need not figure
in the settlement of the problem pre-
scented, but on broad economic grounds
it is undesirable that the Chinese shall
be permitted to enter the country.
An instance Of the rate of pay re-
ceived by the coolies of China is given
where the cody walked 90 miles on
towpath and then returned the same
distance for an equivalent Of % cents
AS near as can be learned there are
600000,000 Cinnamon in the empire
and the United States would be threat
ened with a yellow invasion that would
at once cause Il reimbursement of the
conditions of the laborlug class in the
United States If the bars of the eXclu-
sion act are let down. The regulations
of the act are now enforced by the
commissioner of immigration, and it il
expected he viii make some recon-
mendations and observations along the
line indicated in his next annual re-
port.
New Industrial school Project.