The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-11
SENATOR PETTUs
Has Been Misrepresented as to Posl'
tion ON Chinese Exclusion Bill.

Lucien Julian Walkers Washington Let
ter IN Birmingham Age Herald.
A certain Alabama newspaper feceiVeu
here prints a request from some man resi-
dent at Galloway Mines that the news
paper inform Senator Pettus that 3g'oee
Iaboring men Of Alabama are resolve1 10
ne vspaper in question. apparently speak
ing for Itself. declares that Senator fe, ,
tus opposed the Chinese exclusion o,li'
and inferentially therefore organized IA
Dor in the State would work TO prere .i,
Senator Pettuss re-elecuon py TIE lor.h-
coming Legislature. -,
This apparent misunderstanding or mis-
construction of the attitude OF senator
Pettus does him great injustice. inc
Senator did vote against the Chnese eN-
clusion bill as it was passed by the House
In a wild panic and without proper as
cussion or reconsideration. and IN the emu
without any opposition Whatever. inns
astounding action of the House was AT
the time dwelt upon at length in this cor
respondenee and the mischieVousness
and hurtfui madness OF II all were point
ed out by almost every newspaper III
America 1t was stated in this place: ana
in every place that the passage OF the
House bill by the Senate was Impossible.
and ought in common sense TO remain
impossible; that Ii was the most striking
manifestation in recent times OF leglsia-
ton run riot in a legislative body that
has entirely ceased to be dellberatlVe,
because of the despotism OF the speaker
Today called upon Senator ePttus and
showed him the paragraph from the Ala
bama newspaper. Upon reading II inc
Senator remarked:
''If this man and this newspaper mean
that l voted against the Chinese exciu-
sion bill as Ii passed the House, they
are quite right IL they mean that I Vot-
ed against the exclusion of the chinese.
they are entirely false. and graVely mis-
represent me. Organized labor in this
country petitioned Congress to re-enact
f'htpnGa exclusion law. labor
never Asked Congress to pass any such
bill as that which was rushed through
the House and sent to the Senate for the
Scnate's consideration. / voted for the
re- enactment of the Geary law. with GER
tain we'll defined and strong restrictions
added. voted for what organized labor
in Alabama and throughout the MON
petittoned me TO vote Tor ana something
moro beside. l proved by my vote. as
the Record shows. that was unalterably
opposed to the immigration OF chinese
laborers.
II repeat, voted not only as organized
labor asked me TO vote. but even went
furthe' than they desired in following
my own Judgment of the necessities of
the issue that is. the exclusion or Chr
nese laborers from our country. These
published in all the newspapers, and are
of Official record in the Senate.
1T amazes me and pains me that any
union labor man. or any newspaper IN
Alabama. should in this particular. or in
any particular of record. misrepresent
me and misinterpret my official action.
1t is astonishing that in this day of the
widest dissemination of sthe facts OF Con-
gressional proceedings, any man or any
newspaper should place me in a false and
hurtful attitude. In respect to the Chi
ne Sc exclusion bill and to all other meas
ures in which organized labor nave been
interested, the official Congressional Rec
ord shows with perfect clearness. per-
feet distinctiveness that l have voted in
the interests of labor: that have served
organized labor as best l could, accord
ing to the best of my own Judgment"