Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-10-16
FROM A CHINESE STANDPOINT.
An Oriental View of Exclusion and
the Treaties.

the Treaties.
Chinese Daily Free Press, San Fran
cisco.-The people of California are
again aroused by the sand-lOt slogan,
and again "The Chinese must CO."
This time, however, the warcry is
sounded by the newspapers and the
better class of demagogues OF the
stump and platform. The wilted
laurels have been torn from the
wrinkled brow of the sand-lot agitat-
or, and now adorn the heads of editors
who fancy they think, orators who
chatter but Go not think, and pOliti-
clans whose pockets think for them.
During the last week quite a stir has
been created by the holding of public
meetings and by the untrue state
ments and dwelling arguments of
the newspapers. The spasm is or
and for while temperate and staid
citizens-those whose minds are not
warped by the greed of praise or mon
ey-must wait until the excited public
judgment shall resume it's normal. In
the meantime, the Chinese Free Press
will do what it may to rescue the
truth from the deluge of fa.sehood
and vituperation which now sub
merges it.
There is nothing intricate or com
plicated in the position of the Chinese
people upon the treaties or the ex-
clusion law They are of American
construction, and the Chinese are
willing to abide by and obey all the
provisions thereof. They demand
that the compliance shall be mutual,
and that individual injustice shall not
be inflicted upon them. They offer
no objection to the strictest exclusion
of that class of their countrymen
which might conflict with the mater
ial interests of the like class in Amer
ica-that is to say, the coolie or the
laboring class-and the exclusion of
these is fully provided for by the laws
already in force. But the Chinese
practice of the United States to treat
as thieves, forgers and perjurors, and
to proclaim to the world that they are
such, that class of Chinese citizens
whose interests are personally mutual
with the same class of people in
America, and who have been decreed
to be entitled to free intercourse with
Americans by laws made by the PEG
pie of this country themselves. By
these laws certain of the Chinese are
declared exempt from the harassing
examinations imposed upon the coolie
class on coming to this country, but
in practice the law is ignored, and
these ostensibly exempt visitors suf-
fer indignities from which even the
coolie escapes. Why? Is it unrea-
sonable to suppose that crooked in
spectors and bribe-taking under Of
ffcials consider them fatter pickings
than the coolies, and that personal il
treatment is the quickest and surest
method to extort from them the COW
eted coin? This is not a violent sup
position, and instances may be cited
in attestation. One statement is fire.
quently made and urged as reason
for refusing to the merchants, stu
dents and travellers their rights under
the law and the amenities common
to civilized life. The rabid orators
and more insincere editors predict
that if the exempt class is admitted to
this country and treated as il they
were human beings, the coolie class
would take advantage of such con-
dition and flock hither in hordes,
armed with fraudulent certificates of
their standing as merchants, students,
etc.
It may be conceded that fraudulent
certificates-few in number, however
have been used by dishonest China
men to gain entrance to this land.