The sun., 1906-10-23
CHTNESE LABOR.
An Umfavorabae Opinss1 Of Its Usefulness
IN EsuiIssinx the Panama Canal.

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To rHK Enron or TEE sUN-ST: In the
interview published in yesterdays sun Chair
man Shonts denies that Cinnamon have been
hired, or are to be hired 10 dis the big ditch.
As Viscount Miner points out In q recent
article In the National RerieV, raging CON
troversy over Chinese labor In South Africa
IL exercisinG the pens and tongues OF INC
controversialists, the politicians ana tns
"Randlords" uf Great Britain, while a. yes
the public seems not to have been .~AAeHeO
to the true character OF the issue.
EnxlIshnen met and talked with when l
was over Their, about q month ago seemed
10 think Great Britain had sound reasons 10
be sorry thaC ahe ever permitted the whole
sale importation OF the cheap Chinese labor
into the Rand. The @inese In South africa
are to be comniserated. They are neted
and despised for the same reason tnaS tney
have incurred the resentment OF organized
labsr in other countries. tho reason s that
they live as cheaply as II 10 possible Tor human
belngs to hive. they save up money ana they
do not spend ths money on the spot ous take
It back 20 China.
Chinsss labor mas been tried and found
wanting at Panama. While the Panama
Railroad was building. about NIFTY years
ako. workmen were obtained to the number
al seven thousand from anywhere and
everywhere. There were Irish. French. Aus
trianb. Germans and Ensiishmsn-end In the
number were about thousand Chinsmen
Hin rios and tsa and opium were imported
from thel- native, ,soS,s-T ~s.A s1saa. "Ssn
they got here they were deprived OF the
narcotic on the ground OF the immorahty
of the habit Then the Cinnamon got home
SICK and most Of them committed suicide
Some Of them sat on the sesshore and al
lowed the rising tide 10 drown them. others
.tranR Ricd themselves with their queues.
living face downward In tho streams. The
name of one Of the stations Of the railroad,
Matachin, means dead Cinnamon. And
90 the number dwindled till not more than two
score were Ieft-and these were deported TO
Jamaica. where they became roadside beg
gars.
Colonel william Ludlow found in the con-
struction Of the Costa Rican Railway that
-the Chinese rottsd. The Jamaica
negro n the fellow who seems 70 stand thAS
sort Of thing better than anybody else
The labor question at Panama is indeed.
az the commission says IN It's last report
"a crave and perplexing one; and the COM
mission seems quite Justified IN it's conclusion.
which Ia that the application Of laws passed
or 20 be passed by Congress for the benent OF
American labor at home to labor on the 18th
mus will benedt q very small number OF
American Iaborers but will enormously ado
10 the cost Of construction, and American
labor at home will have 10 pay its share Of the
couseo uent increase IN taxation.
an the opinion OF the commission it 10 q
mistake 70 handicap the construction OF the
Panama Canal with any laws save those OF
paiioe and sanitation. The commission
strongly recommends that labor on the 18th
mus be excluded from the application OF the
eight hour law, the contract labor law, the
Chinese exclusion act and any other law
passed or TO be passed by Congress for the
benefit Of American labor az home