Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-13
Tax RENTED by Canada.

in the state of New YORK.
Tax RENTED by Canada.
The officials of Canada are not so ter
rible in their administration of the law as
those of the United States. They temper
justice with mercy. They do not try to
exact the pound of flesh. They waived the
head tax and permitted Pong-bow to return
to the dominion of his gracious majesty
Edward VII, in Canada. The United States
mashal delivered him to the deputy col
lector of customs at Bridgeburg, Ontario,
and since that time so far s We know,
Pong-bow has resided in London, Ontario.
The majesty of the law has been V1nd1-
Gated.
Pong-bow has good friends in Terre
Haute, however, and they are still trying
to do something for him. They continue to
write letters to the immigration bureau, to
Representative Holiday, and even to the
President in his behalf. They are asking
what can be done to atone for the crime he
committed when he lived nineteen years in
the United States without permission and
what is necessary for him to do to secure
permission to return to this land of liberty
and Christian civilization. If an American
citizen had been treated by the Chinese gov
ernment as Pong-bow has been treated by
the United States terrible to-do would
have been made about it.
Representative Holiday has recently pre-
senteu affidavits signed by residents of
Terre Haute to show that Pong-boW is a
merchant and has submitted a duplicate of
q peddler'S license issued to him July g.
1901 but this attempt to set up a claim
which Pong-bow has not previously made
that he is a peddler and not laborer-will
not result in his readInission to this coun
try. Peddlers are included within the term
''laborer'' by section II of the exclusion act
of November 8, 1908; and, furthermore
Pong-bow has himself admitted that he
was laborer and a laundryman, and a
court of competent jurisdiction has decided
that he is an outlaw.
Officials Without Discretion.
The officials of the immigration bureau
have no discretion in the matter. They
have no authority to reverse the action of
a court, and they are sworn to administer
a law which forbids Pong-bow to live in
this land of freedom and liberty, this asy
lum for the oppressed and this refuge from
the tyranny of despots. One might suggest
that the officials of the immigration bureau
have shown more zeal than is necessary in
their successful efforts to prevent Pong
bows return to Terre Haute, and perhaps
1t is not unnatural to wish that all officers
of the law were so yigilant in the perform
ance of their duties. There are immigrants
and they number thousands-who actual
ly threaten the peace of this country and
who have been declared again and again to
be menace to our institutions, but Pong
bow is not included among that number
Everybody in Terre Haute who knows him
is willing to testify that he is an honest,
useful and lawabiding, although a humble,
citizen and everybody there would be glad
to have him come back. But that is impos-
sible. He is doomed to live in Canada or to
return to China. Even President Roosevelt
who is a mighty man of valor. is not big
enough to bring Pongbow back to Terre
Haute, nor is Speaker Cannon.
The only means. Commissioner Sargent
says, by which Pong-bow can secure his re-
turn to Tere Haute Is to go back to China
and begin anew by acquiring status as
member of one of the exempt classes who
are admitted to this country under Prov
sion of section of the exclusion law. In
order to do that he must become a mer-
chant, or a tourist, or a student, or any
thing but a laundryman or a peddler He
could not re-enter the United States and re-
assume the occupations in which he seems
to have been engaged in Terre Haute with
out rendering himself liable to arrest ana
deportation again.
There is no power or authority under ex-
listing law to permit him to return to Terre
Haute under any circumstances; there is NO
possible way for him to get back there I'M
less the exclusion law is amended and the
amendment made retroactive SO as to cover
his case
Pong-bow has recently written a letter to
a good woman in Terre Haute asking her
to try to make people of the United States
and the whole country to be informed about
me- and 1t Is to be hoped that his expe-
rience will attract public attention and Gre
ate a public sentiment that win compel Con-
gress to correct the injustice that is being
suffered because of the idiosyncrasies of our
statutes. The immigration officials do not
enjoy the enforcement of these laws 1t Is
a painful duty to them, but they have no
alternative without violating their oath of
office, and both Secretary Metcalf and Com
missioner Sargent have repeatedly recon-
mended the modification of the exclusion
law so to cover such cases