©hi (Crutre Jftmnaat.
——♦-- .i
BELLEPONTE, PA.
The Largest, Cheapest and Best Paper
PUMLISIIKL) IN CENTRIC COUNTY.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
SPKECH OF
HON. ANDREW G. CI'RTIN,
OR PENNSYLVANIA,
In the House of Representatives, rhursday,
March 23. 1882.
Th. 11-ioss lisrliiß tin.l.. consW.rsllon h bill (S
No. 71) to subtree Irttsl) elrl|>ulstl"ii rt-lallog to 111.
CblDN—
Mr. CURTIS' said ;
Mr. SI-BASER: The gravity of (he que*
lion now before tlie House surely enti
tles it to all the distinguished ability
with which it has been argued. I have
not the temerity to suppose that 1 can
give to any member on this floor any
reason tor a change of thejudgement to
which ho may have arrived from that
discussion ; yet representing a part ol
the people of this country, 1 am extreme
ly obliged to the gentleman from Cali
fornia [Mr. PAGE] in charge of this bill
for the lime which it has been his plea
sure to me to express to the House my
reason tor the vole which I shall give.
It is common for gentlemen on this
floor, as I have (darned since 1 have had
the honor of a seat here, to speak of
labor and of its protection as one ot the
cardinal duties of a representative of
the American people; and lalor, sir,
CAnnot be magnified as the great source
of values, of improvements, and ot pro
gress. I have never heard a gentleman
on this floor advocate any bill or meas
ure looking to progress or development
or production when he failed to men
tion the protection of labor as the tirst
duty he owed to his constituents ; and
who has ever known a member of Con
gress when a candidate for office who
did not on the hustings declare himself
the friend and sturdy advocate of all
measures which unght fo-ter, pr< tect,
or advance the interests of labor? Now,
Mr. speaker, for the tirst time in the
history of the legislation of this govern
ment Congress is brought face to face
with the clear and well-defined question
of labor unalloyed by the paramount
protection of any of the diversified in
terests which employ labor as the pri
mary subject of legislation.
This, sir, is not a question of the in
corporation of companies; it is not a
measure giving vast dominions to cor
porations or companies of citizens : it is
not subsidies, it is not money or capital
to be protected, leaving labor to be em
ployed in the vast avenues of trade and
commerce, into which capital invites
labor as a mere incident to protection.
The American Congress stands to day
in the presence of a clear and well de
fined question of the protection of a
class of American citizens who most
need and deserve the munificence of our
Government. On the western slope ot
the United Stales 100,000 Chinamen
take the place of UK),UK) American
citizens.
Disguise it as you will, conceal or cov
er it with the humanitarian principles
underlying our structure of government,
summon from the history ot the past as
has been done on this floor during tbe
long debate the sublime utterances of
the Centmental Congress through the
Declaration of Independence, what is
the question we are to meet on our
votes on ttiis measures? It is sentiment
and only sentiment; and it fades belore
the wonderful growth and changing in
terests of the country, its progress, its
wealth, its great luture, and the true
logic o' the necessities lAthe condition
of our people AD I (iomnment now.
present, as did the silver tones of the
great bell when the fathers of the Re
public sealed their immortal fame in
the declaration, and rung out the proc
tarnation of liberty and equality to all
humanity. And here we are in the
presence of tbe question which, I repeat,
is the protection of American latior.
Do we prefer to have 100,000 Chinamen
take Ihe place of 100,000 American la
borers, part and parcel of the body
politic, owing allegiance to our Govern
tn.nl, with the right of the ballot, in
suring for their children our free edu
cation, and with American hopes snd
aspirations ?
1 say to my friends on the oilier side
if you are in favor of protecting labor
you now have the opportunity. , This
Government only answers the expecta
tions of its great founders, and Ix-come*
truly a state when it is united and per
feet in its homogeneity and relieved
front ail sectional divisions. IT when we
disturb the interest* of the people ol
Maine it should affect the people of
California, and if we interfere with the
rights or interests, the happiness, or
prosperity, or (ail to redress wrongs suf
fered by tbe people of Oregon, our ac
tion or failure to act vibrates in Florida,
and will be felt by the peopl- there, as
if they were the sufferers. When there
is real unity and harmony in our gov
ernmental organization we protect all
the f-eoj le of all the couutry, and we
provide redress and remedy to any evils
or wronga suffered by any portion of
the people or section of the country.
When tbe people of California or of
any part of the Pacific coast knock at
the doors of the Congress of the United
.States and present in evidence not to
be impeaches! and in language of truth
not to be misunderstood in the almost
unanimous declaration of the people,
and through the united voice of all
their Representatives in these Halls
that tbey suffer from the introduction
of a foreign element not in harmony
with tbe rights and interests, and in
terrupt the prosperity and pursuit of
happiness of a Urge body of Ameri
can citizens who have cast their lot
there; when it is claimed by them
that there should be a preference to
American labor over recently imported
Chinese labor; the whole people of the
United States are touched by the i|)
peal, and it is our right as it certainly is
our duty to protect and defend their
citizens against tbe introduction of this
new element which they declare dis
turbs their peace and interferes with
the rights and interests of a large por
tion ol their people. 1 need not say in
this intelligent presence, so tborougl •
Jy versed in the duty of the Government
of the United .Slates to proteot labor,
that it is our first duty to the constitu
ent* who sent us here, nor need I re
mind gentlemen on this floor that it is
it which tins made u* great. Labor has
developed the resources of our country
and lies at the foundation of our
weulth, our prosperity, and our power.
It is from the exactions taken from the
toil of tho man who works a day for an
honest day's pay, which is hut the dic
tate of common honesty, that all the
wealth and prosperity of this country
comes.
I am selfish enough to believe that it is
time that this great country should say,
if it is our pleasure, to ull the world who
■nay come here and who shall not come,
and on that serious question the Amcii
cwn people will judge wisely and justly
whose coming may not interfere with
the prosperity of American citi/."iis by
birth or adoption, and it is surely the
duty as it is in the province ol our Gov
ernment to interfere when that que.
lion is presented, as in the present
measure ; ami whatever there may fie :n
the fulure, we are only called to deal
with living facts and actual condition
and demands, if the people of Califor
nia ure oppressed or wronged, if their
rights and interests are affected l,y the
introduction of Chinese labor to the ex
clusion of American labor, this Congress
will perform sta duty by answering
their appeal to the magnanimity and
power of their central Government.
It is said on this floor, and it is a sen
timent which can bear repetition, that
we opened the portals of our Govern
ment and invited the oppressed people
ol all the world to cotno here in peace
ful approach and enjoy our true civil
and religious liberty and the dead level
of American socia. organization; and
yet who would for a moment believe in
that liberal declaration which is claim- I
ed in its behalf in this discussion.
We would not suffer paupers or erimi !
nals or diseased people to come here to j
spread contagion or disturb us by crime
in order to make this continent a gteat
reformatory asylum, which it would be
come if tbe declarations of gentlemen
on this floor were carried to their full
and logical conclusions. We might
reform such people and cure their d--s
eases, but they might infuse their virus
into the health and morality of the
American people.
There will come a time when tin
great nation will t,o under-tooi] by all
the family of the nations of the world ;
and the governments of the nations of
Western Europe rannot regard us and
our free s> stem with the satisfaction and
the affection of which we are accustom ,
ed to hear so much, and which, I must
be permittted to say, is the sublimity of
sentimentalism.
Our great ideas of human liberty and
the rights of the citizen have under
mined the legitimate governments of
Europe silently, constantly, progressiva. j
ly, and surely to final consummation,
until centralized power has been heroic
ally claimed, demanded by, and given :
to the m isses. and the ein|>eror and tbe
king remain but the nominal heads of |
our governments where public opinion
ho* asserted its power in tbe regula ;
tion of all authority, and is rapidly set- j
tling their destiny for the future, when j
their governments will be more and t
more assimilated to ours. We take the
German, the English, the French, the
Irish, the Scandinavian, people from all
nationalities of Western Europe. They ,
or their children learn our language, ,
accommodate themselves to our social '
organization, swear allegiance to our
Government, become part of our people :
—our equals. They deserve otir pro tec .
tion, as they contribute to our wealth.*
The Chinaman, in bis instincts, in hi*
birth, and his feeling remains a ('hi nam tn
alter twenty five years' residence U|>on
th-- western slope, lie is without Ihe
influence and happiness of home, wife,
and children, and his rigid, selfish na
lure is not chastened by the influences -
of social enjoyments. The f'hinnrnan
has not broken his allegiance to bis na
tive country. He is iticrusted in and :
controlled by superstition arid caste,
winch has hound him in its fetters and -
his country for more than fifty renin j
ries, and no matter to the ''ninaman
how long fie remains in thi* country, j
those who know him best and have
studied his nature and habits tell us the I
desire to return once again to the Flow- j
ery Kingdom is ever present with hun
and ill the article of death In* last wish
is that his hones shall he sent back and
buried there.
The representative* from the Western
coast tell -u that he only seeks to gel
money eeough to return to China arid
provide for Ins scanty living there. He
never has a*imilate<l with our people,
and he never will. Surely if h* ever
intended to, Ihe experiment of twenty
five years has failed to accomplish what
gentlemen on the other side say may be
accomplished in the fulure. It i* per
fectly pro|>er (hat we should feel for op
pressed humanity, that we will give to
all the |eop|e of the earth our Christian
faith, and leach them to demand as
their natural right the large liberty and
individuality winch we enjoy and culti
vate under our system of Government;
but it is carrying sentiment to the ex
ireine when we will not relieve the peo
pie of any part or section of this coun
try from the presence of men who they
allege do not contribute to their proa
|ierity, but degrade the lalxtr of the
American, and who fail lo become citi
zen* of the United Stales, yield allegi
ance to our Government or accept our
religious faith, our language or morals.
The gentleman from Maaachu*ett* sye
tbe Chinamen does not increase. No,
sir, he dnee not. There are physical
reasons why be cannot, excepthy immi
gration.
If the people of California are affected
in their interests by the presence of tbe
Chinese then, if we are a Government
and a State, this appeal come* to every
man in thlsoountry influenced by pat
riotism. Patriotism, sir, is not confined;
toa locality, and 1 say tothegentleman
from Massachusetts it ia not confined to
New England, and I would not claim it
for Pennsylvania alone. Patriotism ia
not fendnesa for your home, or county,
or state, or tbe amities of our social sur
rounding*, however pleasant they may
lie, or to your family, to whom you may
be tenderly attached, and make life de
slrable and happy, but ia a holier and
higher sentiment, which wells up from
the human heart and makes the true
citizen regard every man within the
borders of his country as hie brother;
and if the people of the western slope are
iillbcted in their enjoyment of life by
the presence ot these people it is my pat
riotic duty and yours to protect and de
fend them again*! what they should
know and present a* a wrong and claitu
retire** Irotn the American Congress.
[Applause.]
Mr. CUKITN. Mr. Speaker, i* my
time out.
The SPEAKER. Iti*.
Mr. CU ITIIN (to Mr. PAGE.) What
say you, air? Shall I have more time7
.Shall I have live minutes more?
Mr. PA'iK. Very well.
TIieSPEAKKK. The Chair hear* no
objection to the gentleman from Penn
sylvania proceeding.
Mr. RANDALL. To come out of the
time of the ger.tleman Iroin California.
The SPEAKER. The Chair under
*tand* the gentleman from Pennsylva
nia [Mr. K\S I) a i.i. | to olject to In* col
league proceeding unless the additional
time comes out of the hour of the g.-n
tleman from California.
Mr. MANNING. 1 understand that
the gentleman from Georgia |Mr. II AM
MOM.] i willing to give In* tune to the
gentleman from Pennylvuiiiu.
Mr. PAGK. II the gentleman from
Georgia in willing to give hi* five min
ute* to the gentleman from Pennsylva
nia. of course I have no objection.
Mr. IIAM MOX D, of Georgia, Under
the arrangement which has been made
I am to have live minute*, of which the
gentleman from Pennsylvania may have
u* much a* lie like*.
Mr. CURTIS'. I thank the gentle
man from Georgia. We were enemies
once ; we arc friends now. I thank you.
my brother. (Great applnu-e. | It i*
said we are in no danger from having
among u* thi* race of Chinamen, with
their obedience to centuries of a civili
ration not in harmony with our*; with
language, habits, religion, tradition.atid
educated, trained, and in the practice
of gro* sensual morality which surely
the most ardent advocate of our duty
to all mankind could not wish to have
injected into the moral habit* and live*
ol the American people. Mr. Speaker,
early in our history we tried the assimi-
Intion of a race of different tradition*,
habit* and faith. Those of our ances
t ua who first nettled thi* country found
the Indian, themni of the forest, the
owns-r of the soil, and they offered to
hiiu our civilization and he refuted to
accept it. They gave him their vice*,
because we must he permitted to sup
pose they bsd tbem to spare. Ido not
know tfiat they offered ium their vir
tue*. I ntn gtad they did not, beeau-e
the generation now present nee-l* all
that kind of legacy our encestor* left to
us. (Laughter, j
Who now will pretend to say that it
i not better that thi# great continent
*hould be peopled* by civilised men
than by the barbarian men found here?
I say, sir. they refuted to aecept our
civilization, and the great wave of civili
tit ion rolled over them. It has bridged
our rivcis. tilled our field*, surmounted
mountain*—bored through where it
could not surmount—felled the forest,
turned the virgin *oil of the prames to
the living light of the sun and subjec
ted it to the uses of humanity, *r.l in
it* progre*# at every step rose the school
hr>n*e arid the church, providing for ad
vancement in all the way* that lead to
a national supremacy in nil fair busi
lie** and prosperity. The Indian neither
would accept it nor move upon it, and
it rolled over bini; and the poor bar
barian i* fast fading l-fore the mighty
march of the civilisation of the western
continent. There ia the end of one
rice.
Mr. Sp*.<ker. ia passing through the
Rotunda of thitf*pito| a few days s.nce.
I looked over it* v**tne in admiration
of it* ju*t pro|ortion and great beauty,
and symbolizing, in crowning this
magnificent pile, the advance in |>ower,
art. and culture, the march of a mighty
people, noticing around it* base the
racord in the crude art of our
earlier national life of the great event*
of the beginning of our history; and
there, *ir, above the period* in history
told in paint I* the history of the Indian
race. Over the northern door of the
entrance to the H.itunda the Indian is
presented a* receiving the white man
and extending to him the hand of
friendship. Over the eastern door the
Indian gives the white man corn. Over
the western d-mr in mercy, an attribute
of deity, the Indian maiden fall* upon
the pro*liate Englishman who wa* the
robber ol her father, a great fore*t king,
ple*.l* for In* life, and in mercy In* lite
i* spared. And over the door leading
to this Chamber the white man kill* the
Indian. Sir, the story ia told in im
perishable stone. It i* the history of a
rare, put in the Capitol of a great |M>O
ple by whom destroyed, whether to our
glory or our shame the future historian,
who will deal with u* a* we deal with
those who have preceded u* in the live*
of nations, will tell ; and if history is
philosophy teaching by example, we
may not bin exempt from the destinies
of nations.
When we contemplate the ages yet to
come, when it may be |>o**ible that all
the pros|>erity thai now surrounds tins
great people, thi* magnificent pile h*il
crumble down to earth and the record*
of the great events of our early history
in the crude ntt of the time are lost to
the magnificent dome so just in it* pro
portions, so symbolical of our wonderlul
progress, a learned archicologiat may
come and there tnay find amid ita ruins
the history of a myth cal people pre
served in stone, placed in the Capitol
by a superior race ; a history certain
and imperishable a* the Assyrian mar
hie or the Egyptian granite, which re
cord the uncertain history of race* long
since decayed and lost. There, sir, we
record the end of one race. I have to
speak, air, if I have the time, of another
race. Shall I he spared a little time
with the patience of tbl* House to speak
of the negro race f [Cries of "Go on I"]
The negro waa taken from his native
home, lie wa* not consulted as to his
immigration, he waa forced to become a
native of this country. When dealing
with the negro raoe the gentleman from
Massachusetts must forget the sublime
sentiments of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, for the negro waa here theo
and a slave; forget tba advanced hu
manity and Christianity of the liberty
loving people who settled that sterile
portion of the United Slates, that cold
region sod inhospitable soil, which, in
lu progress, baa so marked the thrift
nod industry and intelligenoe of the
race of men it ba produced, of the
great part their illustrious statesmen
have borne in every step in our progress
and in the very foundation of our match
lens Constitution. Sir, it wa* not the
humanitarian principle ol which the
gentleman speak* that brought the
negro, those who did it eliminated all
the teaching ol their live*. They for
got their free civil and religious nentj
merit and the introduction ol the negro
from Africa to this country wa* the u*
of power, the practice ol unjustifiable
wrong, moral degradation, and the in -
stinet of iron-sou led cupidity,
| Here the hammer loit.J
Mr, PACK. I yield ten minute* to
the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. CAN
NOV. j
Mr. CUfITIN. I would he very much
obliged if the gentleman would allow
rue a little more time.
Mr. PACK. I have no objection if
the gentleman can proceed by unani
mous consent.
Mr.CUltl'lN. 1 shall want but a few
minute*.
Mr. PACK. I ntn willing the gentle
man shall go on il the additional lime
i* tint to be taken out of my hour.
Mr.CAMP. I object.
Mr. SPKINCKH. The gentleman
front California [Mr. Pxoaj ha* promised
;to yield me live minutes. I will give to
| the geiilb-m in froiu i'eiuiylvaiil* what
j ever portion ol my time he may desire
| to occupy.
| Mr. PACK. I have already yielded
;my time liberally, I have no objection,
| of course, to the gentleman from I! 11
j noi* yielding hi* time to the gentleman
j from lVniiay Ivatnu,
Mr. CL'KTIN. I thank the gentle
I man from Illinois for hi* courtesy. In-
I stiticlivi ly the negro moved to the
South. There he had the gi-riuil warmth
j of the Min, so natural and necessary to
' In* race. At a propitious era in tin
history of tin* people Whitney invented
i the cotton gin. and introduced a mea*
1 ure ol prosperity quite unknown to any
portion of tin* country in the past, and
added to tin- wealth of th* nation and
to the ease and comfort of his owner.
Ihe negro made the southern portion
of the United Slate* fruitful and pros
| pernus.
Who, Mr. Speaker, can rr fer to the
! history of that race in this country
I without emotion* of sorrow for the pa-t
j and apprehension* for the Inline? We
[ are all familiar with it. It i a lesson
we have all learned and know only too
well. Year by year the problem ol
I African slavery in thi* countiy grew
U|>ou us. It engaged the attention ol
| our wisest and most skillful statesmen.
It strengthened with the coming years
and finally the question was settled in
the Mood of more than 7.10 00(1 of our
people. Strong, useful, intellectual men
tat the dust. Untold million* of trea#
ure were spent in the struggle which
affected the buineas, the commerce,
and the sentiments of the civiliied
world. The contest ended with the
freedom of the tieg n. lie was rled
to manhood, and to day he stand* the
equal of the white man before the law
and one of the common humanity ol
thi* great country.
Ihe negro is our legacy. The dis
turbing element of hi* bondage in
American |litic i*gone foreser. That
era. sir. is fast fading into forge!fulne**
—wouM to Cod we could erase it from
our history and from our memories!
And yet since my presence in this Hall
I have taken courage for the future
when I notice the mingling of men
together on this floor who struggled
in battle, the hailing gate and maimed
bodies of members of this House; ay.
sir. more. When I listened the other
day to the *|>eech of the eloquent gen
tlenian trom Mississippi, [Mr. Hooker,
noticed the beauty and perfection ol
hi* sentence* and the depth and power
and force of his clas'ic allusions, utter
ances of the gentleman which attracted
the profound attention of this Hou*e.
there wa* more appeal to me, sir, in the'
mute eloquence o( the wave* of his arm
|e>* sleeve than in all the beauty and
power and fascination of hi* language.
It brought to me the consolation that
we were onee at peace and that true
liberty founded on unity, concord, and
fraternity wa* now present, and to grow
and increase forever and forever. [Creat
applause.]
What the true philosophy of the fu
ture of the negro race in this country
■n*y be no man has yet been wise
enough to predict, for reasons which
are acceptable and convincing to those
who study and reflect upon the moinen
tous question. In his native country
the negro never huilt a highway, and he
never engaged in commerce or trade.
He never made a tangible religious faith
which consoled him living or gave hopes
for the future, or raised a temple to a
deity. He never learned to build for
himself a house, to manufacture, or to
invent, and scarcely knew bow to make
clothing to cover bis nakedness, lie
inhabited a country of great rivers and
extensive forests, a land of great pro
ductiveness ; a healthy climate with all
the surroundings and appointments of
beneficent Providence, ar.d yet he lived
without a language or an alphabet, with
out history or tradition. He was a bar
barian then, and he remains in the ig
norance and superstition of a barbarian
still.
Now, Mr. Speaker, with five or six
millions of that race in this country—a
race now our ward*—our first duty as a
Christian people will be performed in
giving tbem all the enlightenment tbey
will accept, all the teaching in nur
power. Having raised them to man
hood we must instruct them in the
principle* of our Government, the value
of the rights they have acquired, and
instill into tbem our religious faith, and
it mav le in the mysteries of Providence 1
that Kihiopia. the country of their home,
may open her arm* to the light and
knowledge of civilislion which we have
given to those of their unfortunate and
unhappy race who were forced among
us and who are now the ward* of this
great nation. If our duty to this race
is performed, as I trust and hope it
shall be, we may condone the first oricte
of bringing tbem here, and they may
contribute to the future prosperity of
our country. But the fact cannot be
concealed that there ere many patriotic
and learned and wise men who look
with apprehension to future dislur
b*re fmm that element in our politi
cal organisation.
Mr. Speaker, having disposed of one
raoe, and In the disposition of the In
dian we cannot have very great pride
in that part of our history ; HIMI having
another race entirely foreign to lhs
Caucasian people here, over whom we
Itave assumed protection, to whom we
propotte to give enlighlnieiil arid kuowl
edge, until We have tua<lO SOUK; dlsposi
tion of tiiem, or incorporated llicui 10
firmly into the l.ody politic that we need
apprehend no disturbance fiorri them in
the future, 1 do not think that we
should try another experiment with a
race quite on dissimilar, with an older
civilization, surrounded liy cule, hy
i prejudice, (.peaking in a loreign tongue,
i who refuse to mwiuiiUte in any re*peel
| Willi UK, and are no part of the hody
j politic, ami who never will he; and in
j u*muoh a* the |Hirtion of our people
; where they livedo not want lh<-iii ami
j are wronged and injured hy their pre*
I enee, it i* the put of justice to our
j Stale and tlie assertion ol our sover
eignty, independent ol aentimerit ami
in harmony with our interests, to ex
elude them.
Mr. speaker, there were before the
war nfllnilie* hetween the negro mm
and the while man in the South wh.cb
we have never understood at the North.
1 In- white man at the South would he
tin- companion of the negro, admit li rn
to lii* house, join in hi* pleasure*, find
satisfaction in in* society, hvcauae he
tween the white man and the black
man the law rained a distinction, broad,
dn>iiiict. well known ami understood hy
, both. With u* in the North the di*
| unction between the white mm ami
! (lie black wa* only a social di*tincliori,
j and it remains a social distinction still,
j allil the distinction between the races
has riot been broken by the ballot. If
| the negro man of the South, having
bet n raied to an equality with the
j white man, i* to he advanced by that
i equality to a higher plane of civilization
| arid learning; if lie i to learn the duty
! of obedience to the Government, of the
| support of it* law*, and through the
I ble*mgs of freedom and equality, the
! while man of the South i hi* proper
teacher, because between the white man
of the South ami the n-gto man of the
South there are friendship* and aflii*
lion* which are not understood in the
North; and I have failed to understand
the character of the Southern while
man it lie i* not inclined to riiike the
most of llie negro race that he can. arid
*urely inspired hv the sfiitiiiiet of winch
2 have *t*oken the colored uisn of the
South will liml in the white man hi*
true friend. If it i* not hi* sentiment,
it i bi interest. And, sir. with the
knowledge, the .11. factory kn w le.lgc.
that the intellectual stature of the tie
gro man ha* t.een improved by his con
dltlon of freedom, and without ap| re
hensiotia of disturbance from that ej.
meni in the near future, 1 srn inspired
by the hope that all that i expected hy
the higiie*t and nio*t expansive philan
thropy will be accomplished in that
hitherto degraded and unhappy people.
1 have said, Mr. Speaker, that it i a
common and favorite topic, however
•incere, to speak of labor, ami ver*
much has been **. I of its powers and
it* demand* for just protection by and
through the (internment. Thi* Gov
ernment should give protect.on to the
Islairing CWM-S in any enactment of
this Congress. The ofjec! of previous
leg sialiou has generally been the pro
lection of capital, and the protection of
their interests the incident. Sir, we
have given away empires to corpora
tions, We raise subsidies. We extend
the credit of our Government to **i*t
central red and incorporated capital.
\ and we protect the products of our own
ingenuity and industry by imposing du
lies on foreign oom;>eiition when we
raise revenue, iif that 1 do not corn
plain, because I know capital offers en
terprte* in which labor will find em
ployment and pay. And, sir. if the
cenlrahxaiion ot jaiwer arid of capital,
winch I must not think tht American
aniens look U|on with satisfaction for
the future of this country, and if we do
not dueci the legislation msde to the
protection of all cls*.e* engaged in ami
necessary to develop our resources in
which capital i invted to active em
plnyment we fail in our duly. There
should I e perfect harmony between
capital and labor, (ins is de|>cndent
iijwin the other ; and it must be reinem
bored that c*| ilal is much more able to
take care of the interest of capital than
labor can le of labor Independently
of the Government there is scarcely in
thi* conutry any of the enterprises or
avenues through which capital find its
direction and employ* lalvor where
there are not combination* to regulate
the supply and demand, provide for
markets, and sometimes, 1 regret to
say, fix the price of wages.
When incorporated companies or as
. sociated cat ilal can combine to eatab
j lisli puces of production or carnage or
the value of labor, or at their pleasure
or convenience fix the value of the pro
duct ions of the farm or the price which
shall be paid for the products in our
maikets or needed in the prosecution
of their business, it is not strange, in
deed, that we are often disturbed by
the restlessness of laborers. My learn
ed and eloquent friend from Mississippi
read in the course of his remarks a re
|>ort made of a farm of thirty thousand
acre# in California, where Chinamen
were employed, in which it was stated
that they were patient and obedient
workmen and in no danger of strikes ;
and that no doubt i* the testimony ol
men who employ them, and it it true
patience and docility are not character
istica of freemen. If capital can com
bine labor baa the right to reasonable
and enlightened association in aell de
fenae. Meetings are constantly occur
ring all over the country in almost
every State at thi* time by men who
earn their living by the sweat of their
face, and those who have noticed the
proceeding* of recent meeting* of that
character must have noticed with great
satisfaction that there i* no violence
threatened, no intimation of any breach
of the law, hut they have associated for
the purpose of getting the highest poa
sthle pay for a day'# work. They have
the right to refuse to work when they
believe the compensation inadequate to
their aeoeaailie* unless they are serving
under an agreement. They have not
the right to interfere with the right* or
interest* of other* and their enjoyment
of the Meeting* of our Government, or
to destroy property, nor, at 1 under
stand tba proceeding*, do they claim
the right to prevent or interfere with
other* who detire to work when they
' r*fu*f, beeaue then tliey nr in viols
| tion of lliw law, *H the ligbl* of oih* r*
J have intervened. J cannot but regard
llm r'riit proceeding* mid
of *oriingiiiu ■> sending Co an intelli
gent understanding between lalior mid
capital and to tben mutual prosperity.
Sow. sir. it i Hut LIKELY t<> occur, tut
it ii possible to bring 50.000 Chinamen
from California ami settle it,etn down
| HI Massachusetts, t I. . VAELL or Lyon or
; Fall Iktv r or otln-r enterprising towns,
• wliiri they ure busy u* been m tlj-ir
I praduotln Industrie*, m| !hu diip
I place t),(KKj M iM*rUuctu workmen
and laborers. 1 apprehend the enlighl
j ened work moil who now make the
; flourishing ciiion I have mentioned >
' prosperous and yield such plentiful re
i turns to tbo capital invi -io<l m their
manufacturing establishments, I appre
iboii'l, sir, iiiat strike* might b* expect
ed, and John Chinaman Mould not faro
better, 01 •< well, fa MM land ami under
the protection of the t<-. ly baiil and
exalte t political ideas of the Puiitan ;
and the violent denunciation of the
enlighlene i Yankee oiator would dw rf
into liaiinli-ss inane prattle, the crude
onftory of the shamble* ami tin* sand
lots of i iiiornia. Laughter an i loud
applause ] I hen, sir, they would sc.i >•
l> eoteruio the sympathy that low
goes out with sue'ii g-m-io.ny, and in
the ex press, ,<n ~t wtiich their member*
on this floor are so eh quern, toned and
beautified by the perfection of their
language.
If, men, the introduction of forty or
fifty thousand Cmnamen would inter
fere wnh the r.giils or the interests or
I happiness or ability to woik in New
Lngiand, where so inucu ol th--ir pr-s
I pertly depends on labor, we liare the
! r 'fS ij b nay, it is our duty when the peo
! pie of a great State, one of the great
' sovereignties which tnake up our G iv-
I eminent, ask for reue! TO grant it if HI
our power. I) New Kngland could r. it
tolerate such an invasion, and the Chin
aman in thousands should be carried to
llie N .tilli bjr capital, seeking cheap J,
bor ; or if be should gi there to a cli
mate altpicd to h - nature aril work
ami production, in bsimuny with b
life and leaching', won sou d becoui"
►of the colored man. and wi,.,t oi tin
jMKir white man of that section Who
wou d 11 tl cl such a grerious wrong on
tne black man. the ward of toe nation,
and take from htm the interests, the
teachings, and sympathy of llie white
Tin, ho real friend I .Such a calamity
it not to fx- for a moment contemplated
to the colored man of this nation.
1 will most heartily give my vole for
tins lull; and accepting tbe pi.ticple
i admitted l<> a.l the gentlemen wno
liare dtscU-sed this question that we
1 have the right Input limitation on
the immigration Ol the<'jiinee people
under the treaty n th that nation, a
j question 1 need not ti .r discuss, 1 will
| Vote for twenty years suspension of irn
in gration f*ecause, first, we assert llie
' right ; we believe the representations
! made by all tbe people of the Pacific
coMl to tf tru\ th*y iif** our on
peoj !e. and as they are the best judges
! of tfie limitations s.s to lime, 1 yield
any judgment I might have to the bet
ter judgment of those who should un
derstand this question. When we con
; cede to their judgment we give it force
*nd effect by our legislation in this Con
yr-s*. [Great applause ]
♦
The Activity of the Lobby.
It cannot have e-ra| ed the o'i'eiv i
lion of the country that the present
j Congress is lies#- 1 by lobby st on every
:si fe. It has torn so from the first day
I of the semon. befote the organ
j nation of Congress tbe country had been
. made to undeiatand that some gigantic
scheme* f,,r depleting the public tics
ury w. re in ptepiration. and for ten
years there has l>oii no such pressure
; ill Ix-balt of all sorts ol jobs as then is
!at this tine. The fact is not only dis
creditable to the majority ill the press nt
j (.oppress, but it is asb ,tne and humiiia
i iron to the whole country.
lhiring the six years ;n which tlie
I Democrat* held a msjority in the M.>u-e
of Itepreaeniativr* no loliby made ita
appearance around the Capitol. It
seemed to understand from the moment
J the result of the election* ol l.sT-f I*.
j came known that a change of policy
: would fret te out trie lobby which bad
j for years disgraced Washington and
| corrupted Congressmen. No lobby what
j ever made its appearauce when the
Forty fourth Congress was organised.
It it hati it could have done nothing.
A Congress whose committee* carefully
scrutinise*) the expenditure of almost
• very dollar of tbe public money ami
rut down tbe appropriations s tine thirty
or lortv millions in a year was not the
sort of Cmgress to encouivge lobbyists.
The contrast with the present is signi
ficant and altogether damaging to the
present Ct ngress. Many of the old
scheme* have been brought back to
Washington and many new jobs have
been added until the list is appalling.
There are several canal scheme* of nvrw
or less magnitude, ad represented by
lobby its of great enterprise, who are
spending const.lerat-le sums of money
for cupper* ami wine anil other good
things of life such aa Congressmen are
presumed to be particularly fond of.
There are a number ol other internal
improvement scheme* on hand, too, and
money se tm to t-e wanted at every
tut n for things in which the government
can have no interest whatever.
At th* beginning of the session there
was reason to fear thvt some of these
jobs would be made successful The
Treasury was well filled, with a Urge
surplus constantly coming in, and there
was every indication of a disposition on
the part of Congress to g,ve the lohhv a
lift. That this haa not been done i*
largely due to the rule* of the House,
which fortunately prevent bill* of any
kind from being rushed through out of
order. Tht* has enabled those who
have been opposed to job. to hold them
in check.
The f*ct, however, that th* hhhy
unner tbe ctrcumstonve* doe* not
pro*per doe* not relieve Congress of the
•eendab It is disgraceful that lobbyist*
•hould dare to appear at the Capitol at
all and offer their shhetne* to Guogtm
But Cong res* iueif is to blame for that.
The average lobby Sat i too ahrewd to
weate %.-• time end money where there
i* no hope. He wwualfy know* hie Coo
fir ess and a Congress winch be* tbe
confidenoe of the lobbyist cannot also
have the confidence of tbe people.