Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1914-07-24
CHINESE EXCLUSION.
EARLY HISTORY OF THEIR FLOCK
ING OF GREAT NUMBERS TO
THESE UNITED STATES.
CALIFORNIA HAD =" COOLIES"
Their Standard of Living Very Low
While Efficiency Was High.-Ex-
clusion Law Passed in 1902.-Op-
position Developed In the East.

In 1868 the Burlingame treaty was
negotiated with China and, under its
protection, $4,000 Chinese coolies"
went into California under contracts
for work before 1880. The white pop
ulation- was largely driven out Of the
fields of common labor and there was
much restitution and general indigna-
ton.
In 1882 congress passed the first ex-
clusion law. This was re-enacted in
1892 in the Geary law and by treaty
with China of May 8, 1894. Under this
law and treaty Chinese laborers were
excluded but merchants, teachers, stu
dents and travellers were admitted.
The Geary law and treaty expired
May 5, 1902.
The sentiment on the Pacific coast
was strongly in favor of reenacting
the Geary law and continuing the
treaty, or even making the exclusion
provision still stronger. A big con-
vention was held in San Francisco in
November of 1901, attended by 5000
delegates from county boards, munic-
ipal bodies, labor unions and CONNER
cial and civic associations and, after
two days discussion, the president and
congress were asked, without a dis
senting voice, to reenact the Geary
law and continue the treaty.
AS a race, the standard of living of
the Chinese is very low while their
efficiency is high. The Europeans
usually come up to our standard of
living but the Chinese will not, SO
there is a tendency to depress the
standard of wages. They work more
cheaply and live more cheaply than
white men. They live in unsanitary
quarters, breeding disease, and are
generally slaves to the opium habit.
Furthermore, they are REPRESENTATIVE
"a permanently foreign element
and introduce race problem. After
years of residence they continue to
live in colonies by themselves and
maintain their racial peculiarities in
tact. There has been very little inter
marriage between Chinese and whites
but the issue of such marriages seems
to develop the virtues of neither race
but the vices of both. And finally
they are parasitical; they take much
in the aggregate but give nothing in
return-the money goes back to China
} and they follow, whenever they have
accumulated a competency.
A San Francisco paper in 1902 esti-
mated that since 1868 Chinese labor
ers had sent from this country to
! China more than $4O0,0OO,OO0 in gold,
not counting what the great six com
panies had absorbed. If a compare.
lively few Chinese were able to carry
away this amount of gold in "a years
what would be the result If the bars
were thrown down?
: The policy of exclusion was very
satisfactory to the peoples most vital
ly concerned-those of California and
the Pacific coast states-but there
was some opposition to it from the
east and south. The eastern opposi
ton was voiced by the New York
chamber of commerce which pro
tested against the exclusion of Chi
nese on the ground that it would sub
vert the efforts being made to In
. crease our trade relations with the
Chinese empire. OF course, 1t is i'm
possible to say what our commerce
with China might be under different
policy but as a matter of fact oul
trade with China has steadily in
creased since 1882, the date of the
first exclusion law, rather than show
ing any special deterrent effects. The
cotton planters and cane growers Of
the south argued for the admission o.
Chinese laborers on the ground thai
they must have cheap labor to replace
the negroes who are drifting away
} from the farms into the cities.
The Chinese exclusion law was re
enacted in 1902 with some amend
ments, the chief of these being a pro
vision excluding not only Chinese by
birth and descent but all Chinese Of
mixed blood. The bill also incorpor
ated the existing treaty regulations
and extended the exclusion laws to
the Philippines and the other posses
: sions OF the United States and forbids
Chinese laborers In our colonial pos
sessions coming to the United States
Within the next few years popular
feeling against the Chinese and 8
strict enforcement Of the new exclu
sion act resulted in much embarrass
ment and annoyance to Chinese diplo
mats, merchants, students and other
classes privileged to enter. This led
in 1908 to quite a serious boycott IN
China of -four and other American
goods. This was not openly a govern
= mental move but seems to have been
worked up by various Chinese guilds
The Chinese also complained of being
excluded from the Philippines and
Hawaii. Our government would, Of
course, make no concession on points
regarding the admission Of coolies tc
either the United States or its posses
sions, but did modify some of the reg
ulations removing the unnecessary