Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1918-02-22
The Question of
MOngOIian Labor
SHALL CHINESE FARM HELP BE
EMPLOYED IN U. S.
Organized Labor Opposes Importing
Chinese CoOlie Farmers.
(By John Bush)

1t is easy to talk in favor of one
thing and yet really believe exactly
the opposite, and that is the position
occupied by some people who are ad-
vocating the importation of Chinese
laborers to assist the farmer and en-
able him to raise and handle larger
crops to feed the allied armies in
Europe. They claim the farmer,
without this coolie labor, can do no
more than he has. already done, and
like all advocates of tyranny, slavery
and autocracy hide behind the shield
of patriotism and lay the blame for
food-shortage upon the union work
ing man, claiming that he, while COM
planning of the insufficiency and high
price of food, will not work on farms
and will not permit the farmer to Sc
cure help from China, where the sup
ply is unlimited. They say "why not
use them to help win the war and
when it is over send them back home
to develope their own country?"
This theory may appear logical to
some people, but my conception of
it is this: In one hand they are car
rying a stone. while they show the
bread in the other. A few mems wick
edness may easily become all mems
curse, and to import Chinese into the
United States would surely be curse.
If we import and compel these coolies
to work on farms we introduce slav-
cry. If we do not follow this course
the mills and mactories will soon be
filled with cheap labor which must be
fed and cared for and will eventually
make more millionaires and more
millions for those who already pos
sess more than half the wealth of the
United States. In brief, it will mean
the downfall of the working man.
If the farmers need additional help
why would it not be better to stop
some Of the non-essential productions
and let Americans help the farmer
during the busy season, then at its
close return to their former occupa-
tions? Let the government make a
survey of the cities and conscript, OF
in some other way, take some of the
slackers and grafters out on the
farms and put them to work. They
would be undesirable, but not so much
so as the Chinese. If we do bring in
the Chinese where is the farmer 60
ing to house them? They will have
to be cared for somewhere, and the
men who advocate bringing them
here do not want them in their
homes, neither does the farmer. They
say so themselves,
Our daily papers and magazines
are filled with suggestions and plans
to save food and fuel, and the work.
ingman is told that he should elimin-
ate from his table some of the luXu'
| ries which even in time of moderate
prices he could not afford and there
fore knows nothing about. Thousands
of men and women in the large cities
are living the night life, as did Harry
K. Thaw and many other famous i'm
moral characters who never produced
anything and are wasting both food
and fuel. Why not put a stop to this
night life and put such people to
work, instead of working the honest
! laborer to death, or filling the country
up with the lowest of mankind, who
when the war is over, are to be sent
home to develop their own country?
But who will send them home?
Let us not forget the words of the
immortal Lincoln: "You can fool
some of the people all of the time,
and all of the people some of the
time, but you cannot fool all the
people all the time"