The Colorado statesman., 1906-03-24

conduct eXamln? ions IN emma before
the immigrants are allowed to come
here, are materially reducing even the
small number of cases that do occur.
But even as it is, the number of
these cases is insignificant. There is
no appreciable influx of Chinese labor
ers, and there is not the slightest or
most remote danger of any; the whole
scare that has been worked up on the
subject is pure chimera. 1t is my
deep conviction that we must keep out
of this country every Chinese laborer,
skilled or unskilled-every Chinaman
of the coolie class. This is what the
proposed law will do; it will be done
as effectively as under the present law,
and the present law is being handled
with the utmost efficiency. But | will
do everything in my power to make it
easy and desirable for the Chinese of
the business and professional class;
| the Chinese travellers and students to
come here, and / will do all | can 70
| secure their good treatment when they
| come; and no laboring man has any
! thing whatever to fear from that pol
| icy. | have a right to challenge you as
good American citizens to support that
policy; and in any event | shall stand
unfiinchingly for it, and no man can
say with sincerity that on this, or in
| deed on any other point, he has any eX-
cuse for misunderstanding my policy.
"You have spoken of the immigra-
| tion laws ] believe not merely that
all proper steps should be taken to
prevent the Importation of laborers
under any form, but | believe further
that this country ought to make reso-
| lutte effort from now on to prevent the
| coming to this country of men with
standard of living so low that they
tend, by entering into unfair competi-
| ton, to reduce the standard of living
Of our own people. Not one of you
can go further than | will go IN the eff
fort steadily to raise the status of the
! American wGge-worker, so long as,
while doing it, | can retain a clear
conscience and the certainty that l am
doing what is right. | will do all in
my power for M, laboring man except
to do what is wrong: and / will not
do that for him or for anyone else.
Now | come to the general subject
of your petition. | wish in the first
| place to state my regret that you did
not divorce so much of the petition as
refers to the action of the executive
from so much as refers to the action
of the legislative branch, because | can
not consider any petition that reflects
upon the coordinate branch of the
government or that makes any charges
whatever against it. ! would not even
receive it save for the fact that in part
it affects the executive Therefore in
what | have to say l shall lir7it myself
solely to what you assert in reference
to the acts of the executive.
you speak of the eight-hour law
| Your criticism, so far as it relates to
the executive, bears upon the signature
of the appropriation bill containing the
money for expenditure on the Panama
canal, with the proviso thaN the eight
hour law shall not there apply. If your
statement is intended to mean that no
opportunity was given for a hearing.
! then the statement is not in accordance
with the facts There was ample oppor
tunity that any one could be heard, but
not a single request for such a hear
ing came to me. | received. however
some hundreds of kilograms and let
| ters requesting the veto of the entire
appropriation bill because it contained
that proviso. Frankly, | found it diff
cult to believe that you were writing
and telegraphing with any kind of
! knowledge of the conditions in the
case. | believe emphatically in the
eight-hour law for our own people.
I'VE must not let our natural sent.
ment for succoring the oppressed and
unfortunate of other lands lead us into
the warped moral and mental attitude
of trying to succor them at the expense
of pulling down our own people. Laws
shcnld be enacted to keep out all immi-
grants who do not show that they have
the right stuff in them to enter into
! our life on terms of decent equality
with our own citizens. This is
needed first in the interests of the la
boring man, but furthermore in the
interests of all of us as American citi-
zenS; for, gentlemen, the bonds that
unite all good American citizens are
stronger by far than the difference,
which | think you accentuate alto
gether too much between the men who
do one kind of labor and the men who
do another As 4or immigrants. we
cannot have too many of the right kind
and we should have none at all of the
wrong kind; and they are of the right
kind if we can be fairly sure that their
children and grandchildren can meet
on terms of equality our children and
grandchildren, so as to try to be decent
citizens together and to work together
for the uplifting of the Republic.
Now, a word as to the petitioning
of employees of Congress. That stands
in no shape or way on a par with the
petitioning of men not employed by
| the government | can not have and |
| will not have when l can prevent it.
I men who are concerned in the admin
istration of government affairs going
10 Congress and asking fer increased
pay. Their business is to come
through the heads of departments.
This applies to postmasters, to army
/ end navy officers, to clerks in the gov
ernment departments, to laborers-it
applies to each and all, and must apply
~. :. maIInr of simnln liscinline.n