Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-09-13
achinese Coolies on the lsthmus.'

l.
ing down the safeguards of the Chi
nese exclusion law by failure to en-
force it and by employing Chinese on
the isthmus has awakened grave mis-
givings in the minds of many people
Even the Washington Post. which is
printed right under the shadow OF the
White House-an independent paper
seems to be waking up to the danger.
Under the above heading it lately pub.
lished this editorial, which contains
much food for serious reflection:
The isthmian canal commission in max
ing up its specifications relating to the
employment of Chinese coolies in the
canal zone seems to have made no pro
vision for deporting the coolies. The
United States agrees to house the Chinese
and give them free graves, etc., but the
published specifications say nothing about
deportation. Possibly 1t is figured that
the arrangement for free graves viii dis
pose of the coolies who have done then
share of work.
The Philadelphia Press. which Is az
strong a friend of the canal enterprise as
the Post is and which is just as anxious
to see the dirt fly, points out the disagree.
able features of colonizing Chinese under
the American flag. In Hawaii the IN.
crease of Chinese and Japanese school
children has become SO marked as to faint
the American school children. and lively
protest is going up against the presence
of either race of orientals. The increase
in school children followed the COLOMBIA
ton of the islands by coolies imported by
the sugar planters. From 1902 to 1893 the
Chinese pupils in the schools or Hawaii
increased AZ per cent and the Japanese
afsv1fF
Der one-fourth of the school population.
1T may be argued. of course, that as
Americans will never settle In the canal
zone the presence Of Chinese there Will
not be Objectionable. It has already been
asserted that the canal zone is not Amer
lean territory, but merely leased ground
and that persons born there are not citi
zens of the United States. Nevertheless,
the continued residence of thousands OF
Chinese coolies anywhere under the Amer
lean flag will furnish plenty of trouble iof
this country, and il is question whether
the problems connected with such state
OF affairs were adequately studied before
the decision was made to employ coolies.
If the canal commission INTENDS 10
deport coolies who have performed their
allotted period of peonage at Panama y
viii be UP against another difficult situa-
ton. Suppose the coolies do not wish to
be deported, as has been the case else
where. Suppose they prefer to oyerrun
Central America and make their way TO
the United States. The use Of the slave
pen would be the only effective method
OF preventing this The coolies would
have to be herded together under armed
guard and shipped back and forth like
cattle. This. we believe. will be the
method finally determined on. It will be
moving spectacle indeed to see the Unit
ed States in the peonage business in the
attempt to dig the canal by days labor.
The sooner the whole business Is turned
over to contractors. with no more par
ticipation by the government than is re-
quired fer rigid inspection. the sooner will
the canal commission escape the conse-
quences of what might become the great
est scandal that has ever occurred since
the French began the great task.