The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-09

treaties, although he conceded the au.
thority of congress to enact the proposed
law if It saw fit to do 50.
Mr.. Patterson (Col) and Mr.. Perkins
(Cal) supported the pending bill, MAIN
tanning that in no way did 1t contrayeno
existing treaties, as by the convention
of 1894 China had agreed that Chinese
laborers should be excluded from this
country. The bill was drastic In It's pro-
visions, they admitted, but no more so
than was necessary to eliminate the pos
sibility Of fraud.
MIR. CUllom reviewed the treaties and
legislation on the subject Of Chinese ex-
clusion and continuing he said:
Personally 1 am in favor Of an abso-
lutte exclusion Of Chinese laborers, in the
ordinary meaning of that word, and the
proper enforcement Of our present laws;
and it seems to me that those laws are
amply sufficient.
Sees Violation of Treaty.
II do not think it would be wise for us
to pass the bill under consideration, be-
cause / consider many provisions of that
bill to be violations of our treaty rela-
tons with China There Is nothing in the
present situation that makes it either
expedient or necessary to pass a law in
disregard to our treaty with China. We
should do nothing that Is not upon
high plane of honor and dignity
"Our trade with China is worthy of con-
sideration in dealing with this subject
Under present conditions it is as sure to
come to the United States as the sun
shines upon US If we do not close the
doors ourselves. The Hawaiian territory,
over LOCO miles out from our California
shores in the direction Of Japan and
China in the Pacific ocean, is in the full
est sense q part Of the United States
The great archipelago, the Philippine ISL
ands, over which the sovereignty OF
the United States is proclaimed, is still
beyond and comparatively new to China.
So we have opened the way by establish
irg our outposts upon the sea to make 1t
easy for the United States to control the
commerce of that country.
Thinks New Law Unnecessary.
my belief is we ought not to pass any
laws IN disregard of the spirit or letter
of our treaties; that we can continue the
present laws until the treaty of 1894 shall
expire, if notice shall be given that this
government does not desire to be con-
tinued another ten years, and in the
meantime a new treaty can be agreed to
which will abrogate any possible treaty
stipulations, against the absolute exclu-
sion of Chinese laborers, and which will
permit us to enact such legislation as We
may deem necessary for the protection Of
our country from the influx of these Chi
nese laborsrs into the United States. If
China should decline to enter into a new
treaty of this character we might then
be justified in going ahead and passing
any law on the subject Of Chinese immi-
grafton we choose"
In answer to an inquiry Of Mr.. Patter-
son Cold, Mr. Cullom said he wanted the
bill so framed as to enable an honest
student and an honest teacher to enter
the United States without being branded
as a criminal liable to a Jail sentence or
to deportation. That was the meaning
of the treaty with China and that ought
to be the meaning of the law. The treaty
now in force clearly prohibited the com
ing to this country. of Chinese laborers
and even if no law should be enacted by
congress the treaty would prevent the
admission to this country of undesirable
Chinese.
Affirna tive Laws Demanded.
Mr. Patterson maintained that affirma-
tive legislation should be on the statute
books to exclude Chinese-that de-
pendence should not be placed entirely
upon the existing treaty. Until the en-
actment of affirmative exclusion legfs-
lation such as was this bill. he believed
Hawaii and the Philippines could not be
refused. Unless the admission Of Chinese
to the Philippines was prohibited alb
solutely the islands simply would be a
stepping stone Of Chinese to the United
States. The bill was needed because of
bald frauds perpetrated to secure Chinese
an entrance into the United States
Mr.. Perkins (Cal) said that 70 per cent
Of the Chinese in this country had come
10Th +Ian rpC ~
only in California but throughout the
country the sentiment was practically
unanimous in favor Of the exclusion Of
Chinese. He said the reasons for ex-
clusion were fundamental and racial.
Chinese coolie labor, ne said, aIreadE-had
displaced American working men in fac
tories on the Pacific coast. This condi-
ton affected not only the Pacific states
but the labor market throughout the
United States.
Mr.. Perkins said the attack of the Lns.
nese coolie was not alone upon wages but
upon the best aspirations of the Amer
lean working man. No legislation could
be too drastic to prevent such a con-
summation.
Mr.. Gallinger interrupted to express
his belief that existing legislation was
sufficiently drastic, as statistics showed
that IN the past ten years the number Of
Chinese in this country had decreased
from % to 30 per cent
The Chinese exclusion bill, as passed bv
the house, was laid before the senate and
the chair (Mr. Frye directed that il be
referred to the committee on foreign rela-
lions. - ia
Mr. Penrose, chairman Of the immigra-
tlon committee which has had the Chi
hese measure under consideration. pro-
tested against such reference, saying it
was most extraordinary proceeding :,
~ view OF the fact that the immigration
committee has had the subject ,Inder ,.oy,
sideration for many weeks.
BY vote Of the senate the measure wa e
referred to the immigration committee.