The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-07-08
Well Laid Plans of Selfish In
terests Thwarted by Activity
of San Francisco Labor Men
Who Will Not Stand for
Modification of Act.
Secretary Taft Roundly Scored
by Labor for Insinuating
That Chinese Exclusion Act
Was Not Passed Fairly, and
Was Against Public Policy.

San Francisco, CAL, July 8.-Chinese
exclusion is still a debatable subject
In certain quarters. For some time
past there has been much talk in these
quarters of "modifytng' the Exclusion
Act. 1t is not the intention, at least
so far as appears on the surface, to
alter the law so as to permit the i'm
migration Of Chinese labor. Here and
there, particularly In the south, may
be found a suggestion that a certain
amount of coolie immigration would be
a good thing, II only for the purpose
OF waking up the Indigenous labor
to a realization of it's proper place"
in the scheme Of industry, and of the
futility of attempting longer to MAIN
tain the old idea of free and independ-
ent labor. These suggestions are for
the most part tentative, merely feel
agitation on the subject of Chinese Ex-
clusion is confined In the main to
proposals for facilitating the admission
of the exempted classes. merchants,
travellers, students, etc. These propos-
ais involve either a change in the
terms of the Exclusion Act. so as to
broaden the scope of exemption, or a
relaxation Of inspection methods, or
both. In either or both cases. the re-
suit would be the same, namely, to
seriously jeopardize, If not actually de-
stroy, the efficiency of the Exclusion
policy as a. measure for the protection
of American labor. The important
point that is missed, or ignored, by
these proposals Is that there is no
visible difference between any two
classes of Chinese; none, at least, that
cannot be overcome by Chinese di-
plomacy or cunning. To attempt any
general plan Of discrimination between
Chinese of various classes would be to
throw down the bars entirely. Any
such attempt would simply result in
confusion worse confounded," leading
to further agitation. with the newt
able result of a. movement for the
total abolition Of all exclusion laws.
Possibly the present agitators for a
modification Of the Chinese Exclusion
act foresee the inevitable and are plan
ming to that end At any rate it Is
quite clear to those experienced in
the practical phase OF the subject, that
Exclusion, to be effective at all, must
be applied to all classes. The difficulty
experienced in the administration of the
exemption clauses of the present Ex-
clusion Act proves this point. That
difficulty cannot be removed or lessen
ed by enlarging the exemption fea-
lures; to adopt the later plan would
be, In effect, to enlarge the difficulties
of the situation
AS a matter Of fact, there are at
present no serious difficulties in the
situation, except in the minds Of those
who are opposed to Chinese Exclusion
in policy. principle and practice. In
considering the agitation for a relax
alton OF Exclusion, it must be borne
In mind that the agitation emanates
from, and finds its sole support among,
certain classes, the commercial classes,
who, in this, as in all other matters,
are actuated by the sordid ambitions
Of trade, utterly regardless, and even
contemptuous, of the effect of those
ambitions upon the present and future
welfare Of the American people. The
commercialist is anxious to trade with