The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-09
AND IN VIOLATION OF OUR TREATIES,
THE SENATOR SAYS.
Telegram of Protest from Twenty
Prominent Business Men of
the Pacific Coast.

| Cullom, while expressing himself as in
favor of the exclusion of Chinese laborers,
said that many of the provisions of the
| pending measure were in contravention of
| our treaty obligations with China. He urged
! that the United States could not afford 10
| ignore it's solemn treaties. although he
conceded the authority of Congress to en-
| act the proposed law if it saw nit to do so.
Mr.. Patterson and Mr.. Perkins supported
the pending bill, maintaining that in no
| way did it contravene existing treaties,
by the convention of 1894 China had agreed
! that Chinese laborers should be excluded
| from this country. The bin was drastic
| in its provisions, they admitted, but no
more than was necessary to eliminate
| the possibility of fraud.
At the opening of the session the presi-
| dent pro TEN. laid before the Senate tele-
| gram signed by about twenty business men
! of San Francisco protesting against the
| passage of the Chinese exclusion bill I'm its
present form. The signers of the telegram
] declared that the exclusion of the great
| of gross injustice. The telegram was
signed by Claus Spreckels, Thomas Brown.
! |. w. Holman, w. III. Crocker, Charles
Webb Howard. A. II. Payson, p. II. Lilien-
thai, j. A Donohue, Ant Barrel, II. I.
Schott, ]. d. Grant, John Parrott, G.. w.
| Warren ID. Clark, Percy T. Morgan, Leon
Sloss, c. Z. Green, c. de Guigne, John +.
Merrill. w. c. Ralston. p w. Hopkins.
Bowen, II. c. Breedon. George Abbott, S.
| G. Buckbee, George A. Newhall, George
w. McNear, William Babcock, Bernard
/ Tubbs, +. w. Zeile.
A bill. appropriating $4,000 for a public
| building at Biloxi. Miss, was passed.
CHANGE IN RULES.
Mr. Hoar then called up his resolution
providing that Rule 10 be amended by in
sorting at the beginning of Clause thereof
the following: mo senator in debate shall.
directly or indirectly, by any form of words,
impute to another senator or to other sena-
tors any conduct or motive unworthy or
| unbecoming 2 senator: no senator i'm debate
| shall refer extensively to any State of the
| Union" Without debate the resolution was
| adopted
| Consideration of the Chinese exclusion bill
| was resumed, Mr.. Culom addressing the
| Senate in opposition to the pending bill
| He reviewed the treaties and legislation on
| the subject of Chinese exclusion, and con-
| tinuing said: Personally j am in favor
of an absolute exclusion of Chinese labor
| ers in the ordinary meaning of the word
and the proper enforcement of our present
4 laws. and it seems to me that those laws
are amply sufficient L don't think ii would
be wise for us TO pass the bill under con-
| sidera ton because / consider many pro-
! visions of that bill TO be violations of our
treaty relations with China. There is moth
ing in the present situation that makes il
| in disregard of our treaty with China. We
| should do nothing that is not upon a high
| plane of honor and dignity.
| "Our trade with China is worthy of con-
| sideration in dealing with this subject I'm
| der present conditions it is 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 1000 miles
| out from California shores in the direction
of Japan and China in the Pacific ocean.
is in the fullest sense a part Of the United
States. The great archipelago the Philip
| pine islands. over which the sovereignty of
| the United States is proclaimed. is still be-
! yond and comparatively new to China So
We have opened the way by establishing
| our outposts upon the sea to make il easy
for the United States TO control the COM
! merce of that country
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 pres-
ent laws until the treaty of 1894 shall ex-
pire, if notice shall be given that this gov
eminent does not desire it to be continued
| another ten years, and in the meantime a
new treaty can be agreed to which will alb
| rogate any possible treaty stipulations
| against the exclusion of Chinese laborers
| and which will permit us to enact such leg
| lslation as we may deem necessary for the
protection of our country from the influx
! OF these Chinese laborers into the United
| States. If China should decline TO enter
| INTO new treaty of this character we
| might then be justified i'm going ahead and
| passing any law on the subject of Chinese
| immigration we choose"
D
In answer to an inquiry of Mr.. Patterson,
of Colorado. Mr.. Cullom said he wanted
the bill so framed to enable an honest
student and an honest teacher to enter
the United States without being branded
as criminal liable to 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 coming 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.
Mr.. Patterson maintained that affirma-
tive legislation should be on the statute
books to exclude Chinese-that dependence
should not be placed entirely upon the ex
listing treaty. Until the enactment of
was this bill, he believed that the admis-
sion of Chinese from Hawaii and the Phil
! ippines could not be refused. Unless the
| admission of Chinese 10 the Philippines
| was prohibited absolutely the islands
! simply would be a stepping stone 10 the
United States. The bill was needed be-
| cause Of bald frauds perpetrated to secure
Chinese an entrance into the United States.
Mr.. Perkins, OF California. said that -
per cent. of the Chinese in this country had
| come through the port OF San Francisco.
! Not only in California, but throughout the
| country, the sentiment was practically
Chinese He said the reasons for exclusion
| were fundamental and racial. Chinese
| coolie labor he said. already had displaced
| American workingmen in factories on the
| Pacific coast. This condition affected not
| only the Pacific States. but the labor mar
| ket throughout the United States. Mr..
| Perkins said the attack of the Chinese
| coolie was not alone upon wages. but upon
| the best aspirations OF the American work
| ingman. No legislation could be too drastic
| To prevent such contamination.
| Mr.. Gallinger interrupted 10 express his
| belief that existing legislation was suffi-
GENTLY drastic. as statistics showed that in
| the past ten years the number OF Chinese
| in this country had decreased from p TO so
| per cent
The Chinese exclusion bill. as passed by
| the House, was laid before the Senate and
the chair (Mr. Frye directed that il be re-
ferred 70 the committee on foreign rela-
| tiOnS.
Mr.. Penrose. chairman OF the immigration
| committee, which has had the Chinese
| measure under consideration. protested
| against such reference. saying II was "a
most extraordinary proceeding In view OF
| the fact that the immigration committee
| has had the subject under consideration for
| many weeks.
BY vote OF the Senate the measure was