The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-04-05
WOuh support the Mitchell Bill in
Preference TO the Measure
Pending in the House.
GREAT ISSUES ARE AT STAKE.
Predicts That Philippines Will
Eventually Bring Oriental La
bor Into Competition With
American Citizens.
The Republic Bureau.

| The Republic Bureau.
lIth st and PENNSYLVANIA Ave
! Washington. April 4-During the DEBATE
on the Chinese exclusion bill in the House
to-day. Representative Champ Clark. who
ia leading member of the Foreign Al
fairs Committee made a vigorous speech
! in favor of drastic measures for keeping
the hordes of Asia out of competition will
American labor. Mr.. Clark appealed for
legislation which would keep the Chinese
| coolies of boats sailed under American
registry, we'll as out of the territory
| OF .he United States. His speech was
| earnest and eloquent and was heard with
! close attention by both sides. He said in
! part:
! THE House. having ceased to be de-
| Lucrative assembly and having become "A
| business body desires facts rather than
! rhetoric. calculation OF the subject under
! discussion more than eloquence.
| THE question of Chinese exclusion. for
| more than a quarter of a century. has
| been one Of great difficulty. taxing TO the
/ utmost the ingenuity Of the Congress and
| the thought of the country to devise a
solution which will exclude Chinese from
competition with American laborers and.
at the same time. will not only retain. but
| increase our commerce with China.
"FOuEht Problem for Congress-
1T would be easy to pull down the bars
and let the Chinese in ad libitum-a thing
not to be thought of for one moment by
any lover of his country. II would be
simple performance to shut out entirely
Chinese of all classes--a plan to which
there objections urged in many quar-
tiers. hut the task which the Congress ap-
pears to have set for itself of pursuing the
middle course by excluding as many of
them possible without giving such Of
fenss will destroy our growing trade
with the Chinese Empire is about as
tough a problem as the legislative mind
has ever encountered.
within the last five years, both the
difficulties and the dangers of the situa-
ton have been multiplied. First by the
decision of the Supreme Court of the
United States in the case of Wong Kim
Ark versus the United States declaring
that a Chinese born in the United States
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof Is
a citizen: secondly. by the annexation of
Hawaii the Philippines. Guam, Porto Rico
and other islands. the sale bills say
too tedious to mention
Accumulated Troubles.
THAT decision of the Supreme Court
wild orgy of annexation. in which we have
recently been indulging. We have taken to
our palpitating bosom hundreds of thou
sands of Chinese of all classes and condi-
tions. ranging from savants and merchant
princess to coolies. who are little above the
beasts that perish.
Consequently. Congress. for the first
time. is confronted with the stupendous
problem OF holding our newly acquired
Provinces colonies or insular possessions
whichever whatever you please to call
them-and at the same time excluding
vigorously from our mainland the denisons
of those same Provinces. colonies or in
sular possessions.
Verify. verify. we have troubles Of our
own-lots of them. Not having enough
prior 20 the Spanish War. like the Knight
of La Mancha. We went forth in quest
of ventures to the uttermost ends Of the
earth-even to far Cathay-and accumulated
troubles enough to last not only ourselves
during our natural lives. but our prosterity
to the remotest generation. unless we
possess the courage. wisdom and resolu-
ton to unload them.
Prediction Concerning Philippines.
without being a prophet or the son Of
prophet. l make bold to predict that
should the Supreme Court decide that the
citizens or subjects of Spain in the islands
which We acquired became when annexed
ipso facto citizens of the United States the
people OF this country will speedily find
a way of Kidding themselves of that huge
incubus. fo- it cannot be that. in their
sober senses. Americans will deliberately
determine to subject our laborers to death
dealing competition with the cheap labor
of the Orient
THE sooner the laborers Of this country
wake up to the important fact that their
only escape from unrestricted competition
not only with European cheap labor. but
rrrffh pha 1-l
in the United States cutting loose from the
Philippines at once and forever the better
it will be for them. 1t is their only saliva
ton. II the Supreme Court ever decides
that the residents of the Philippines are
most probably decide that Congress has no |
power TO restrict their free Iocomotion in
any part of the United States Then the
yeI,oTi orioa aood ,SIl, VIII pour in and submerge
should awake to realization of the fact !
before ii Is everlastingly too late There
Is no use IN locking the barn after the |
"our permanent retention of the Philip |
pines means reduction of wages in this /,
country to the Asiatic level. That is one /
of the main reasons why / was opposed |
to acquiring them and why | am against
keeping them.
We all take pride in the fact that orr
laborers are the most intelligent. the most |
skillful. the best-fed. the best-clnthed the !
best housed. the rcost public-spirited and .
t'i' on the whole '
face OF the earth: and for one / am unaI- |
terably opposed 10 anything that will do |
prive them of single comfor; or in anv !
manner reduce their standard of ljyino mr. !
lower them in the scale of civilization to |
even the extent of hair So far as in i
US lies. Chinese should not be permitted to |
compete with American laborers either bv |
land or sea-.
No Opposition to Exclusion
During the consideration of the Chinese |
to-day no opponents of the gem |
eral principle of exclusion appeared but /
members were divided In their support OF |
the two bills presented. Messrs Hit of |
Illinois. Perkins of New York and Adams !
Of pennsylvania supported the majority |
bill. and Messrs. Kahn Of California and |
Naphen of Massachusetts Joined with Mr..
Clark In urging the minority substitute.
Plan for Statehood Measure.
REPUBLIC SPECIAL.
Washington. April 4.-After several con-
ferences between members of the Commit
tee on Territories and the Speaker it has
been decided to call up the bill to provide
Statehood for Oklahoma. Arizona and New
Mexico as privileged matter and not
under special order from the Committee
on Rules.
Kern Makes Appointments.
REPUBLIC SPECIAL.
Washington. April 4-Representative Kern
IF East st. Louis has announced the fol-
owing appointments:
David Grover Cleveland Harrison of Gen. !
ralia, to cadetship at West Point, and
Edwin A. Wolleson of Belleville, to the |
Naval Academy at Annapolis