SANFRANCiSCO HISTORY CENTER
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1223 05544 0490
REFERENCE BOOK Not to be taken from the Library
CHINESE IMMIGRATION; Its Social, Moral, and Polilical Effect.
REPORT
CALIFORNIA STATE SEXATl:
SPECIAL COMMITTEE OX CHINESE LMMKiKATloX.
SACRAMENTO:
STATE OFFICE : : : F. P. THOMrSOX, SUPT. STATE PRINTING.
1878.
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBBABY
^137/^
COMMITTEE
Hon. creed HAYMOND, Chairman Sacramento.
Hon. frank McCOPPIN San Francisco.
Hon. W. M. PIERSON San Franci.sco.
Hon. M. J. DONOVAN San Francisco.
Hon. GEORGE H. ROGERS San Francisco.
Hon. E. J. LEWIS Tehama.
Hon. GEORGE S. EVANS . San Joaquin.
|
Digitized by |
tine Internet Archive |
||||
|
in 2015 |
Iittps://arcliive.org/details/cliineseinnmigrati00cali_1
CONTENTS.
Abandonment of children ^ 81
Abandonment of sick and helpless 145, 153, 173, 176, 182, 185, 191, 192, 196, 199, 208
Address of Committee 7
Address, when adopted 56
Address, Rev. S. V. Blakeslee 241
Address, Hon. Edwin R. Meade 291
Address, Hon. Wm. M. Evarts, to Envoys of China 274, 275
Agreements of Chinese women to serve master 135
Agriculture in China 72. SO
Aitken, Andrew, testimony of 41. 221. 222. 22.3. 224. 225
Altemeyer, Abram, testimony of 30. 114. 115, 1 Id, 117
America, Chinese regard for ... .-^i
America, trade of, with China 74. 70
America, effects of Chinese in . -'.ii
American institutions, Chinese regard for ^i, Inr
American slavery, compared with Chinese 247. 24>^
Americans in China 74, 05. lol , lii5
Architecture, Chinese f^l. Id.)
Area of Chinese Empire 2:;2
Area of Chinese Provinces 2.-.2
Argonaut, papers from 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271. l'Tl'. 27::. I'T t.
275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280. 2sl. i'-:'. 2<:. J- 1
Army, Chinese
Arrivals and departures .. l-.ii . _• :,
IS, offers of reward for 126, 165, 167, 175. 1m;, ]'.<■:. I'nl. 2ii7. lM2. J.' ^
I, acts of 126, 16fi, Is.), ^^7, I'.i-I. 2nii. L'lu, 211
Assessment of Chinese property HI. 147, 237
Assimilation of races 87. 2C0
Appropriation for Committee 4
Appropriation for State Prison 238
B
Badlam, Alex., testimony of 146. 147, 14,S
Ben Wong, testimony of 21 . 1 1;4. Ifi.i. 166, lfi7
Benefits derived from presence of Chinese 47. 8T
Bills of sale, copy of 20
Blakeslee, Rev. S. V., Address of 241, 242, 24.-!, 2 ! 4 . lM ■ . 2 : , 2 ' 7 . 21,s. 249
Boalt, Hon. John H., Essay on Immigration 2 .: _ . . _ j'.".. 256,
2 7 _ _ 2.;l,262
vi
CONTENTS.
Bonds required of Chinese servants 30, 48
Bones of the dead returned to China 76, 90, 130
Bonte, Rev. J. H. C, testimony of 38, 41, 226
Bovee, James H., testimony of 21, 173, 174
Boys, white and Chinese prostitutes 25^ 26_, 27^ 28, 10,0, 124, 127, 146, 153, 166,
168, 172, 174, 177, 178, 181, 183, 190, 191, 196
Bribery of public officers, attempts at 140, 188
Brigandage in China 80, 82
Brooks, Charles W., testimony of 16 17, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 10&, 106, 107, 108
Burlingame treaty, benefits of 71, 74
Burlingame treaty, effects of modification of 64, 71, 89, 100, 151, 240
Burlingame treaty, making of 88, 100
California, how regarded by Chinese 8f
California, how affected by presence of Chinese 237
Caste among Chinese 28, 60, 63, 72, 86
Canton, emigration from 70, 83, 90, 104, 110, 130, 141, 150, 166, 203
Canton, population of 162
Chastity in China 73, 86, 94,
Christianity, effects on 62, 63, 224, 225
China, area of 232
China, population of 232
China, agriculture in 72, 80
Chinese Empire, area of 232
Chinese cities, condition of 31, 42, 48, 83, 142, 161, 170
Chinese cities, population of - 2^2
Chinese religious fanaticism 256, 267, 258, 259
Chinese may obtain citizenship, how __-300, 301
Chinese quarters in San Francisco 94, 110, 112, 124, 125, 134, 135, 145, 153, 155, 258, 269
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, condition of 34, 173, 176, 203
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, extent of 32, 111, 12«
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, population of 9.2, 106, 109, 111, 127, 153, 214, 268, 269
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, character of population in 113, 118, 125, 134, 147, 148,
155, 158, 173, 176, 258, 259,
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, fires in i 29, 33, lit'
Chinese quarters in San Francisco, property owned by Chinese in 29, 143, 237
Chinese, taxes paid by 147
Chinese quarters in Sacramento 180
Chinese quarters in Sacramento, condition of 180, 190, 191, 192, 202, 207
Chinese quarters in Sacramento, population of ISO
Chinese quarters in mining towns 191
Chinese Government 31
Chinese, character of 31, 82, 85, 104
Chinese, arrivals and departures of 236
Chinese, our moral and legal rights against 272, 273, 274
Chinese, estimated number in California _ 236
Chinese, effect of, in California 237, 265, 266, 267, 268
Chinese cheap labor, review on ..-269, 270, 271, 272
Cliiiiesc chil.hvn, abandoned 81
Cliiiicsr .li.-^.'asrs couti-acted from women by white boys 153, 168, 172, 178, 196
CONTENTS.
vii
Chinese, domestic relations of 7. '5
Chinese, want of cleanliness among___33, 34, 35, 36, 47, 48, 83, 111, 118, 124, 131, 134, 137, 142,
143, 145, 151, 153, 156, 157, 170, 173, 180, 190, 191, 192, 202, 2117
Chinese weights and measures, equivalent values of 23:!
Chinese Christians 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 93, 119, 131, 136, 139, 143, 144,
146, 147, 148,, 152, 153, 159, 160, 162, 163, 166, 169, 174, 177, 183.
189, 192, 194, 195, 198, 201, 204, 206, 207, 209, 215, 222, 227, 22U
Chinese, education of 48, 72, 80, 84, 90, 92, 15!
Chung, Ah, testimony of 174, 175
Chung Hung, testimony of 179
Clark, Alfred, testimony of 19, 20, 128, 129
Clark, Alfred, recalled 1.34, 135, 156, 157
Clement, H. N., articles of 265, 266, 267, 268, 569, 270, 271,' 272, 273, 274,
275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284
Coffey, James, testimony of 191, 192
Cohen, Samuel H., testimony of 157, 158
Commission, organization of 69
Commission, proceedings of 09
Copy of Chinese bills of sale 20
Copy of Senate resolutions 7, 59, 68
Commerce, California and China 79
Commerce, not affected by restriction 55
Committee, how and why created 7
Committee, Address of , 7
Committee, members and expenses of 4
Committee, Report of 3
Companies,' Chinese, number of 109
Companies, Chinese, kinds of 70
Companies, Chinese, character, power, and authority of '(7, 82, 91
Companies, Chinese, enforcement of decrees 78
Companies, Chinese, contract with Pacific Mail Steamship Company 78, 91, 122, 131, 137
Companies, Chinese, how supported 130
Companies, Chinese, number of men in each 109
Companies, Chinese, controlling women 98i, 164, 174, 17-5
Competition of whites and Chinese 61, 116, 132, 133
Compromising crimes 98, 113, 181, 188
Concubinage among Chinese 73, 82, 86, 93, 120, 121, 151
Confucius, works of character, etc. 94, 104
Congress, power of, to modify treaty 71, 262
Contracts, labor 71, 75, Iftl, 115, 122
Contracts, to repay passage money 71, 101. 122, 206
Contracts, enforcement of 77
Contracts, of marriage 73
Contracts, for prostitution 98, 124. 128, 135
Convents in China 81
Courts used to recover escaped women --98, 112, 120, 124, 134, 158, 173, 177, ISO, 187, 202, 208
Cook, Lung, testimony of 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134
Coolie, what is a 63, 92, 95, 101, 121, 138, 150, 163, 170, 214
Coolie trade 75,92, 95, 101, 150
Coolie labor 63, 81, 101
Crime, compromising of 98, 113, 181, 188
viii
CONTENTS.
Crime, suppressing of 36, 37, 126, 128, 135, 181, :
Criminal population, a 32, 113, 118, 125, 134, 145, 147, 148, 155, 158, 173, 176, 182,189, :
Dan, Ah, testimony of 11, 12, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189
Death rate of Chinese in California 237
Deceased, remains of, returned to China 76, 88, 130
Departure of Chinese, regulation of 78, 91, 122, 131, 137
Departures and arrivals, number of 23fi, 237
Devotion of Chinese to parents 80
Diseases in China 73, 105
Diseases among prostitutes in California 100
Diseases contracted by white boys 153, 168, 172, 178, 196
Displacement of whites by Chinese 116, 132, 133, 19.0, 195, 197
Domestic relations of Chinese 73
Draper, Professor J. W., opinion of . 287
Dufify, James, testimony of 48, 190, 191
Duffield, George W., testimony of 23, 33, 35, 111, 112, 113, ir4
Durkee, John L., testimony of 33, 34, 117, 118
Education in China 48, 72, 80, 84, 90., 92, 151
Education, effects of, in America 38, 39, 40, 46, 237
Effects of Chinese in California 237
Effects of Chinese, beneficial or injurious 265, 266, 267, 268
Effects of Chinese on society 297, 298, 299, 300
Effects of Chinese on Christianity 62, 63, 224, 225
Ellis, H. H., testimony of 11, 15, 176, 177, 178
Emigration from China 70, 76, 77, 83, 87, 96, 101, 150, 164, 218
Employment of Chinese in San Francisco 162
Employment of Chinese in Sacramento 184
Evarts, Hon. William M., address by, to sovereign of China 274, 275
Escaped women, how recaptured ___.98, 112, 12,0, 124, 134, 158, 166, 173, 177, 180, 189, 202, 207
Exports to China 79, 234, 236
Exports to China, table of 234
Exports to China, comparison of 235
Families, Chinese 80-
Families, Chinese, in California 86, 108, 136, 138, 162, ISO, 199
Favored nation clause in treaty 71, 100
Felonies, compromising of 98, 113, 181, 188
Females, condition of 61, 92, 98, 1^4, 145, 151-
Females, abandonment of, young 81
Filial devotion of Chinese 80
Fires in Chinese quarters 33, 34, 117, 197
Eraser, J. P. M., testimony of 150, 151, 162
Galloway, James, testimony of 50, 51, 219, 220, 221
Gambling, Chinese 109, 112, 125, 165, 175, 187, 189, 217
CONTENTS.
Gambling, Chinese, suppression of 126, 128, ISl, IS!), lil,
Gibbs, F. A., testimony of 27, lo2, 1.').';
Gibson, Rev. Otis, testimony of 17, IS, 1".), IHl
Girls, wliite, visiting Chinese prostitutes .IS,"!
Girls, white, driven to prostitution 195
Gordon, F. L., testimony of 82, 85, KM, 105, 1 00, 107, 108
Government, Chinese S2, 85, 104
Government, Chinese, of San Francisco 155, 157, 159, 170
Government, Chinese, provincial 151
Gray, Giles H., testimony of 218, 219
H
Hing, George, testimony of 198
Hoolong, Billy, testimony of 199, 200
Honesty, lack of, among Chinese 63, 84, 9,3, 113, 114, 123, 145, 154, 158, 190, 213, 223
Hongkong, relation to China 70, 83, 104
Hongkong, area, population, etc. 74, 77, 104, 105
Hoodlumism, cause of 117, 196
Hop-vp-o Company, President of 159
Hop- wo Company, members of 159
Hospitals, Chinese inmates in 152
How, Sin, testimony of 160, 161, 162
Hown, Lee Ming 135, 136, 137, 138
I
Ignorance of Chinese__. Immigration, origin of Immigration, effect or Immigration, effects o
Immigration, effects on mining interests
Immigration, inlluenee on moral and religious interests
Immigration, coolie, remedy for
Immigration, benefits of
Immigration of lowest classes 29, 92, 104. ]
Immigration, yearly increase of
Immigration, causes of 107, 110, 121, 132, :
Immigration, regulations of, etc.
Immigration, loss arising from
Imports from China 1
Imports, table of annual comparisons of
Industries, how affected by Chinese '^7, ]
Infanticide among Chinese
Infidelity, punishment of ._-
Intermarriage, whites and Chinese ..
Intermixture of races ... -
Intelligence offices, Chinese, promoters of crime ..
Innocent men ruined
Investigation, character of
h
X
CONTENTS.
Jackson, Oliver C, testimony of : 24, 49, 207, 208, 209, 210
Japanese, character of ^ 107, 230
Java, effect of Chinese immigration in 83
Jones, Charles T., testimony of_ 12, 13, 187, 188, 189
Joy, Captain E. H., testimony of 30, 141, 142, 143
Justice, interference with administration of 102, 113, 146, 147, 156, 158, 164, 166^
173, 177, 178, 188, 192, 194, 205
K
Kan Lee, testimony of 214, 216
Karcher, Matt, testimony of 13, 14, 22, 23, 28, 49, 50, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198
Kennedy, Thomas, testimony of 140, 141
Kinsella, "W. H., testimony of 144, 145, 146
Kong-chow Company, President of 160
Kong-chow Company, members of 160
Kong-chow Company, election of officers 161
Labor, contracts for 91
Labor, how affected by Chinese immigration 47, 48, 49, 61, 86, 103, 110, 114, 116, 132,
142, 190, 192, 195, 196, 197, 209, 216, 261
Laborers, Chinese 71, 72, 79, 149
Languages, conflict between 255
Lee, Sam, testimony of 206, 207
Leprosy among Chinese 74, 152, 154, 183, 197
Lewis, Hon. E. J., report of 35, 108, 109, 110
Literature, Chinese 84
Living, manner of Chinese 94, 106, 109, 111, 116, 125
Living, cost of 261
Lodging houses, Chinese 94, 109, 111, 207, 217
London Times, opinion of 289
Loomis, Eev. A. W. 19, 48, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123
Lotteries in San Francisco . 125, 13&
Louderback, David, testimony of 15, 158, 159
Low, F. F., testimony of 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79
M
Manufacturers, employment of Chinese by 115, 116, 132
Marriage 93
Marriage contracts 73
Memorial of Committee . 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65
Memorial of Committee, when and where adopted 65
McKenzie, Andrew, testimony of 21, 153, 154, 155, 156
Meade, Hon. Edwin R., discourse of 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302
Mines and mining, how affected by Chinese 60, 51, 220
Missionary labors, results, characters, etc 93, 99, 119, 122, 136, 143, 144, 169,
170, 177, 201, 206, 222, 223, 226, 229
Missionary schools . 222, 226
Money, improper use of 99, 127, 213, 214
Money, sent to China 101, 133, 237
CONTENTS.
xi
Money, comparison of, value of 233
Morals, Chinese 31, 63, 94, 104, 106, 120, 141, 144, 151, 157, 170
Morals, effects of presence of Chinese on whites 12-7, 146, 147, 148, 159, 170, 172, 174,
17.7, 178, 190, 192, 195, 209, 223, 227, 228
Morgenthau, Max, testimony of 131, 132, 133, 134
Murder, rewards for 126, 165, 167, 175, 186, 193, 204, 207, 211
Murder, acts of 126, 166, 185, 187, 194, 209, 210, 211
Murder, threats to 165, 186
Murphy, D. J., testimony of 10, 32, 147, 148
N
Naturalization of Chinese 179
Naturalization, manner of, reviewed 300, 301
Ning-yeung Company, President of 129
Ning-yeung Company, members of 129
Oath, Chinese regard for 113, 125, 140, 141, 146, 148, 158, 173, 177, 180, 183, 189, 208
O'Neil, Charles P., testimony of 22, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184
O'Neil, Charles P., recalled 210, 211
n, consumption of 74, 107, 114, 183, 218, 220
•n, effects on Chinese 73, 107
B, physical effects of 73, 107, 173
sition to Chinese, based upon what 283, 284
Parental authority 78, SO
Passions, Chinese under influence of 83, 152
Physical peculiarities of Chinese 254
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, contract with six companies 51, 78, 91, 122, 131, 137
• Polygamy 73, 82, 86, 93, 120, 121, 151
Population of China 73
Population of Canton 162
Population of Hongkong 74, 104
Population of Chinese in California, San Francisco, and Pacific Coast 32, 60, 92, 106, 109, 111,
127, 153, 214, 233, 237
Property, how affected by Chinese 118
Property, owned by Chinese 147, 237
Property, assessed value 237
Prostitutes, importation of 86, 165, 174
Prostitutes, attempts to send back to China 156
Prostitution in China 81, 94
Prostitution, Chinese in San Francisco 98, 111, 112, 120, 124, 125, 136, 138,
146, 158, 162, 164, 165, 174, 213, 223
Prostitution, suppression of 126, 128, 181, 189, 197
Prostitution, contracts for 98, 124, 128, 135
Prostitution, a slavery 98, 112, 113, 120, 124, 134, 145, 154, 158, 164,
165, 173, 174, 180, 185, 191, 193, 201, 209 Prostitution, effect of, on white boys 25, 26, 27, 28, 100, 124, 127, 146, 153, 166, 168,
172, 174, 177, 178, 181, 183, 190, 191, 196 Provinces, area of Chinese 232
xii
CONTENTS.
, testimony of 162, ICS
Eaces, intermixture of 89
Eaces, conflict of 1 108
Eaces, interests antagonistic 255, 256
Eeligion of Chinese 100, 119, 256, 257, 258, 259
Republic, effect of Chinese on 29
Eeport of Committee 3
Eesolutions creating Committee, etc. 7, 59, 68'
Eesolutions adopted by Congregational Ministers 240
Rewards offered for assassinations 126, 165, 167, 175, 186, 193, 204, 207, 212, 25S
Eice, Eev. H. H., testimony of 38, 226, 227, 228
Eights, legal and moral, against Chinese 272, 273, 274
Eights, legal and moral, under international law : 275, 276
Eights, legal and moral, under law of nations 276, 277, 278
Eiotous Chinese—. S3, 163, 213
Eobbery in China 80, 82
Rogers, James E., testimony of 10, 124, 126, 126, 127-, 128
Eogers, James E., recalled 140
Eogers, James E., report of 216, 217
Eesult required, how to be obtained 65
Sam-yup Company, President of 135
Sam-yup Company, members of 136
San Francisco, Chinese quarters in 94, 110, 112, 124, 125, 134, 136, 145, 153, 155, 258, 259
San Francisco, Chinese quarters, condition of 34, 173, 176, 203
San Francisco, Chinese quarters, extent of 52, 111, 124
San Francisco, Chinese quarters, population of 92, 106, 109, 111, 127, 163, 214, 258, 269
San Francisco, Chinese quarters, character of 113, 118, 126, 134, 147, 148,
155, 158, 173, 176, 258, 269
San Francisco, fires in Chinese quarters of 29, S3, 117
San Francisco, property owned by Chinese in 29, 143, 237
Schaum, Lem, testimony of 14, 15, 24, 45, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 206
Schell, A., testimony of 148, 149, 150
Schools for Chinese 109, 126
Secret tribunals 9, 60, 181, 188, 19'3, 194, 205, 208, 209
Servants, bonds required of 30, 84
Shaw, W. J., testimony of 25, 30, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Shorb, Dr. J. C, testimony of 28, 171, 172
Sick, treatment of 29, 99, 112, 120, 124, 137, 146, 153, 154, 160,.
162, 164, 173, 176, 182, 185, 191, 192, 196, 199, 208
Slavery in China 1 92
Slavery on Pacific Coast 17, 28, 53, 62, 246
Slavery of women 17, 84, 98, 112, 113, 120, 124, 134, 145, 164, 158, 164,
166, 173, 174, 180, 185, 191, 193, 201, 207, 214, 215, 258
Smith, Goldwin, opinion of 288
Society, Chinese presence, effect on 297, 298, 299, 300
Stay in California, length of 104, 184
CONTENTS.
State Prison, nativity of convicts 60, 238
State Prison, appropriation for 238
Supple, David, testimony of 145, 146
Taxes, amount paid by Chmese 34, 60, 237
Taylor, Bayard, extract from 32
Testimony of Andrew Aitken 41, 221, 222. 22.;, 22 1, 22,'>
Testimony of Abram Altemeyer .';o, I II. I l.i, in;, 117
Testimony of Alexander Badlam 11:;, 1 17, 14,S
Testimony of Ben Wong 21, li;.'i, liii;, 167
Testiinony of Rev. J. H. C. Bonte :;.s, 41, 226
Testimony of James H. Bovee 21, 17."., 174
Testimony of C. "W. Brooks 16, 17, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108
Testimony of Ah Chung 174, 175
Testimony of Hung Chung 179
Testimony of Alfred Clark 19, 20, 128, 129, 134, 135, 156, 157
Testimony of James Coffey 101, 192
Testimony of Samuel H. Cohen l.')7, 158
Testimony of Lung Cook 129, 130, i:;l, 132, i:;:;, 134
Testimony of Ah Dan 11, 12, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189
Testimony of Ja.mes Duffy 49, 190, 191
Testimony of George W. Dufifield 23, 33, 35, 111, 112, 113, 114
Testimony of John L. Durkee 33, 34, 117. 118
Testimony of H. H. Ellis 11, 15, 176, 177, 178
Testimony of J. P. M. Eraser 150, 151, 152
Testimony of James Galloway 50, 51, 219, 220, 221
Testimony of F. A. Gibbs 27, 152, 153
Testimony of Rev. Otis Gibson 17, 18, 29, 90
Testimony of F. L. Gordon 82, 85,-a.«4:.- W^H-OOr+Wr-lO* — / /- 1/ V
Testimony of Giles H. Gray 1 21,8, 219
Testimony of George Hing 198
Testimony of Billy Hoolong 199, 200
Testimony of Lin How IfiO, 161, 162
Testimony of Lee Ming Hown 135, 136, 137
Testimony of Oliver C. Jackson 24, 49. 207, 208. 209, 210
Testimony of Charles T. Jones li. 13. 1--7, l^s. ISO
Testimony of Captain R. H. Joy_ 30, Ml. 142. 143
Testimony of Lee Kan -l-t. 216
Testimony of Matt. Karcher 1.3, 14, 22, 23, 28, 49, 50, 192, 193, 194. l;»5, 196. l;i7, 198
Testimony of Thomas Kennedy 1-1". 1-11
Testimony of W. II. Kinsella 1-1-1. M->. l-ll''
Testimony of Sam Lee -07
Testimony of Rev. A. W. Loomis 19. 48, 118, ll;i. 120. 121. 122. 123
Testimony of Judge David Louderback 1 1 1 j9
Testimony of F. F. Low 69, 70, 71, 72, 73. 74. 7.-.. Tr.. 77. 7-. 79
Testimony of Andrew McKenzie 21, l.v;. I 'il. 1 1.'6
Testimony of Max Morgenthau l-'l- l-'-. ^-'^
Testimony of D. J. Murphy 10. 32, 147, US
Testimony of Charles P. O'Neil 22, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 210. 211
Testimony of Si Quon 162, 163
xiv
CONTENTS.
Testimony of Rev. H. H. Rice 38, 226, 227, 228
Tesitmony of James R. Rogers 10, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 140
Testimony of Lem Sebaum 14, 15, 24, 45, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206
Testimony of A. Schell 148, 149, 150
Testimony of W. J. Shaw 25, 30, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90
Testimony of Dr. J. C. Shorb 28, 171, 172
Testimony of David Supple 145, 146
Testimony of Dr. H. H. Toland 25, 26, 27, 167, 168, 169, 170
Testimony of Yung Ty 159, 160
Testimony of William M. Webster 170, 171
Testimony of David C. Woods 27, 28, 178, 179
Testimony of Ah You 138, 139, 140
Testimony of Ab You (No. 2) 138, 198, 199
Thieving among Chinese 29, 30, 33, 84, 113, 158, 182, 185, 190, 194, 195, 220
Thefts, security against 3t), 84, 115
Threats to kill 165, 186
Times, London, editorial extract from 289
Toland, Dr. H. H., testimony of_ 25, 26, 27, 167, 168, 169, 170
Trade, Chinese, with other countries 233
Treaty, Chinese, protected by 64
Treaty, our, relations with China 278, 279
Treaty, restrictions of 249
Treaty, method of relief by 64
Treaty, modification of, necessary 64
Treaty, Congress ppwer to modify 71, 262
Tribunals, secrecy of 6a
Ty Yung, testimony of 159, 160
U
Universal brotherhood of man 227
city, Chinese lack of -33, 63, 102, 113, 125, 140, 141, 146, 148, 155, 173,
177, 181, 183, 189, 190, 192, 193, 194, 208, 258
Wages in China 48, 72, 105, 119, 121, 136, 1-62
Wages in California 45, 48, 115, 132
Wages, comparfson of 296
Webster, Wm. M., testimony of 170, 171
Weights, Chinese, equivalent to what 232
White labor vs. Chinese 62, 116, 132
Wives, plurality of, Chinese 73, 82, 120
Wives, relative positions 73, 120, 167
Wives, Chinese, in California 86, 93, 106, 136, 138, 162, 199
Women, social position of 78, 81, 84
Women, refusal to leave China 86
Women, how held in slavery 20, 21, 98, 124, 146, 180, 185, 191, 193, 200, 214, 215
Women, treatment of 99, 112, 120, 124, 145, 151, 182
Women, condition of 106, 113, 124, 145, 200, 201, 207
Women, imported, by whom 21, 165
Woods, David C, testimony of 27, 28, 178, 179
CONTENTS. XV
Y
Yan-wo Company, President of 163
Yan-wo Company, members of 163
You, Ah, testimony of 138, 139
You, Ah (No. 2), testimony of 198, 199
Yung- wo Company, President of 162
Yung-wo Company, members of _ 162
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE
ON
CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
REPORT SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
I
Mr. President : Your committee, appointed at the last session of the Senate, and charged with the investigation of questions con- nected with Chinese immigration to this State, beg leave to submit the following report:
Since the adjournment of the Senate we have been in session at San Francisco and Sacramento, and have taken a large amount of reliable testimony bearing upon the subject.
We have transmitted to the Governor, to be sent to the Congress of the United States, a memorial (prepared for the committee by Senator Pierson) setting forth the views of your committee.
We have also prepared an address to the people of the United States, in which your committee discuss at length the questions involved.
Of these documents, more than ten thousand copies have been by your committee distributed through the mails to members of Con- gress, Governors of States, and to the newspapers of the Union. Copies of these documents are herewith submitted.
Since the preparation of the memorial and address the Congrega- tional Church of this State has, in an authoritative manner, given to the world the opinion of its large and resjjectable membership upon the subject under consideration. This being the first expres- sion upon the subject by a church organization, and one that will go far to dissipate an erroneous impression that exists in religious circles in the East, we have deemed it advisable to submit herewith the res- olutions unanimously adopted at the recent session of the General Association of Congregational Churches and ministers in California, and also a very able address delivered before that body by Rev. S. V. Blakeslee.
We also herewith submit for your consideration —
1. An Essay on Chinese Immigration, by Judge Boalt, a distin- guished member of the San Francisco Bar.
2. A series of able papers upon the subject, by H. N. Clement, of San Francisco, which lately appeared in the Argonaut, a literary journal published in that city.
3. The opinions of Professor Draper and Goldwin Smith, as to the dangers of this immigration.
4. An extract from an editorial of the London Times. A paper read at the annual meeting of the Social Science Asso- ciation of America, held at Saratoga, New York, September seventh, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, by the Hon. Edwin B. Mead, a
4
Report of Special CommiUee.
member of the Congressional Committee charged with the investiga- tion of this subject.
We note a marked change in the expressions of the Eastern press since the circulation of the testimony taken by this committee, and are confident that the interest of our people in this behalf will speed- ily receive fit recognition at the hands of the General Government.
Since the presentation of our first report to the Governor of this State the popular feeling against Chinese immigration has steadily increased. Wherever organization has enabled voice to be given to this sentiment it has been heard in unmistakable tones. Religious, social, and labor organizations throughout the State have united in protests against this growing evil, and we can safely assert that, with the exception of those who have been directly employed as counsel by the Chinese companies, public opinion in California is wholly and entirely in direct repugnance to this class of immigration. Not in the form of force or violence, not in the spirit of mob or massacre, but in an earnest and emphatic appeal to the law-maker, the treaty- making power — the Federal Government — to turn back this tide and to free the land from what is a monstrous evil and promises to be a lasting curse.
The people of California have patiently endured this burden for years ; they will continue patiently to endure it until all peaceable and lawful means have been exhausted. The late ebullitions of riot- ous feeling in our large cities toward the Chinese are not to be con- strued as meeting with the approbation of the people of this State. Threats of fire and sword have proceeded from a very few — not from the people. The public at large have but one disposition upon this grave subject, and that is an open and pronounced demand upon the Federal Government for relief; and they sincerely believe that that demand will be listened to and granted.
The sum of two thousand dollars was appropriated to defray the expenses of the committee. Of that sum eighteen hundred and forty dollars has beeii expended, as follows :
Paid Phonographic Reporter $1,000 00
Paid Sergeant-at-Arms__ 250 00
Paid postage and mailing expenses 436 86
Paid Bradley & Rulofson 50' 00
Paid for reporting for use of committee speeches delivered
in Union Hall, April, 1876 65 60
Paid for stationery, expressage, telegrams, etc 37 55
$1,840 01
A detailed account of these expenditures will, by our Secretary, be submitted to the Committee on Contingent Expenses, to which we respectfully ask this portion of our report be referred. Respectfully submitted.
HAYMOND, 1
LEWIS,
DONOVAN,
McCOPPIN, ^Committee. ROGERS, I PIERSON, I EVANS, J
AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES
UPON THE
EVILS OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
AN ADDRESS
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES UPON THE EVILS OF CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
PREPARED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE OE THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
To the People of the United States, other than those of the State of California :
Fellow-citizens : On the third day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, in the Senate of the State of California, the Hon. Creed Haymond, Senator from the Eighteenth Senatorial District, offered the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :
Be it resolved hy the Senate of the State of California, That a committee of five Senators be appointed, with power to sit at any time or place within the State, and the said committee shall make inquiry :
1. As to the number of Chinese in this State, and the effect their presence has upon the social and political condition of the State.
2. As to the probable result of Chinese immigration upon the country, if such immigration be not discouraged.
3. As to the means of exclusion, if such committee should be of the opinion that the presence of the Chinese element in our midst is detrimental to the interests of the country.
4. As to such other matters as, in the judgment of the committee, have a bearing upon the question of Chinese immigration. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee * ■* * shall prepare a memorial to the Congress of the United States, which memorial must set out at length the facts in relation to the subject of this inquiry, and such conclusions as the committee may have arrived at as to the policy and means of excluding Chinese from the country. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee is authorized and directed to have jirinted, at tlie Stato Print- ing Ofifioe, a sufficient number of copies of such memorial, and (if tin? tc-tinioin- liy -aid committee, to furnish copies thereof to the leading newspapers ul' ili.' ['nit. d Suu- -. \\vr i-..]ii..,^ to each member of Congress, ten copies to the Governor of cai-h .Stale, ami t-. iI.-iim-u two thousand copies with the Secretary of State of California for general distribution. And be it further
Resolved, That such committee shall * * furnish to the Governor of the State of Cali- fornia two copies of said memorial, properly engrossed, and the Governor upon receipt thereof, be requested to transmit, through the proper channels, one of said copies to the Senate and the other to the House of Representatives of the United States. And be it further ■
Resolved, That said committee have full power to send for per.sons and papers, and to admin- ister oaths, and examine witnesses under oath, and that a majority of said committee shall constitute a quorum.
Resolved, Tliat said committee report to the Senate, at its next session, the proceedings h.id hereunder.
To the investigation with which Ave were charged — quasi j'i(Ucial in its character, and in the unsettled state of the country of the highest importance — we addressed ourselves, having but one object in view,
8
Address to the People of the United States.
the ascertainment of truth. The facts herein stated are found from evidence adduced before us by all parties in interest. The results in the memorial to the Congress of the United States and this paper stated are the solemn convictions that have been forced upon our minds.
NUMBER OF CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.
There are in the State of California over one hundred thousand subjects of the Empire of China. Of this number, all but about three thousand are male adults, and that three thousand are females held in slavery by their own people for the basest purposes. The male adult Chinese population in this State very nearly equals the number of voters in the State. Their influence upon our interests are much rriore serious than it would be if this population was made up of families. Then, according to the accepted ratio, it would only represent a male adult population of about twenty thousand. This is a view of the situation not fairly presented as yet to the citizens of our sister States.
THE EFFECT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE CHINESE UPON THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITION OF THE STATE.
It has often been said_ that the State of California is the " Child of the Union." It is certainly true that her citizens are the representa- tives of society as it exists in the other States. They brought with them to this State that love of law and order which is part of the traditions of our race, and far from eastern civilization have founded upon the Pacific Coast a State Government and municipal govern- ments which for a quarter of a_ century and more have compared favorably with any known to civilization. The laws have been enforced, financial obligations have been met with religious fidelity, and in all things governmental we have been worthy — we urge it with a just pride — of that exalted station which the States of this Union have taken in the world's empire. We call the attention of the Representatives in Congress from our sister States to these facts, that when they come to the consideration of the grave problem forced upon this State, and upon the_ Union, they may not attribute the evils which have resulted in this State from Chinese immigration to anything peculiar to the people or government of this State, or to any lack of willingness or ability upon the part of either to grapple with the question. The accident of locality brought the evil to our door, as it might have brought it or some other to yours.
All must admit that the safety of our institutions depends upon the homogeneity, culture, and moral character of our people. It is true that the Republic has invited the people of foreign countries to our borders, but the invitation was given with the well founded hope that they would, in time, by association with our people, and through the influence of our public schools, become assimilated to our native population.
The Chinese came without any special invitation. They came before we had time to consider the propriety of their admission to our country. If any one ever hoped they would assimilate with our people that hope has long since been dispelled.
The Chinese have now lived among us, in considerable numbers.
Address to the People of the United States.
9
for a quarter of a century, and yet they remain separate, distinct from, and antagonistic to our people in thinking, mode of life, in tastes and principles, and are as far from assimilation as Avhcn they first arrived.
They fail to comprehend our system of government; they peifonn no duties of citizenship ; they are not available as jurymen ; cannot be called upon as a posse comitatus to preserve order, nor be relied upon as soldiers.
They do not comprehend or appreciate our social ideas, and they contribute but little to the support of any of our institutions, public or private.
They bring no children with them, and there is, therefore, no pos- sibility of influencing them by our ordinary educational appliances.
There is, indeed, no point of contact between the Chinese and our people through which we can Americanize them. The rigidity which characterizes these people forbids the hope of any essential change in their relations to our own people or our government.
We respectfully submit the admitted proposition that no nation, much less a republic, can safely permit the presence of a large and increasing element among its people which cannot be assimilated or made to comprehend the responsibilities of citizenship.
The great mass of the Chinese residents of California are not amenable to our laws. It is almost impossible to procure the con- viction of Chinese criminals, and we are never sure that a convic- tion, even when obtained, is in accordance with justice.
This difficulty arises out of our ignorance of the Chinese language, and the fact that their moral ideas are Avholly distinct from our own. They do not recognize the sanctity of an oath, and utterly fail to comprehend the crime of perjury. Bribery, intimidation, and other methods of baffiing judicial action, are considered by them as per- fectly legitimate. It is an established fact that the administration of justice among the Chinese is almost impossible, and we are, there- fore, unable to protect them against the persecutions of their own countrymen, or punish them for offenses against our own people. This anomalous condition, in which the authority of law is so gener- ally vacated, imperils- the existence of our republican institutions to a degree hitherto unknown among us.
This mass of aliens are not only not amenable to law, but they are governed by secret tribunals unrecognized and unauthorized by law. The records of these tribunals have been discovered, and are found to be antagonistic to our legal system.
These tribunals are formed by the several Chinese companies or guilds, and are recognized as legitimate authorities by the Chinese population. They levy taxes, command masses of men, intimidate interpreters and witnesses, enforce perjury, regulate trade, punish the refractory, remove witnesses beyond the reach of our Courts, control liberty of action, and prevent the return of Chinese to their homes in China without their consent. In short, they exercise a despotic sway over one-seventh of the population of the State of California.
They invoke the processes of law only to punish the independent action of their subjects; and it is claimed that they execute the death penalty upon those who refuse obedience to their decrees.
We are disposed to acquit these companies and secret tribunals of
10
Address to the People of the United, States.
the charge of deliberate intent to supersede the authority of the State. The system is inherent and part of the fibre of the Chinese mind, and exists because the Chinese are thoroughly and perma- nently alien to us in language and interests. It is nevertheless a fact that these companies or tribunals do nullify and supersede the State and National authorities.
Their government in the main may be just, but is subject to the terrible abuse which always belongs to irresponsible personal gov- ernment. But whether just or unjust, the fact remains, that they constitute a foreign government within the boundaries of the Republic.
That we have not overstated the facts, we beg to refer briefly to some of the testimony of reputable witnesses, given under the sanc- tion of an oath, before this Committee.
James R. Rogers, a San Francisco officer of intelligence and expe- rience, testifies as follows, (see volume of testimony herewith trans- mitted, p. 61) :
A. — I do not know of my own knowledge that such a tribunal exists (secret Chinese tribunal). I only know that when a China- man swears differently from what they want him to his life is in danger. They sometimes use our Courts to enforce their orders, just as policy may direct. They have no regard for our laws, and obey them, so far as they do, only through fear.
D. J: Murphy, District Attorney of the City and County of San Francisco, and one of the ablest and most experienced criminal lawyers in the State, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 82 and 83) :
Q. — In your official capacity, have you been brought into contact with Chinese ?
A.- — ^Yes, sir ; I have looked on my docket for two years, and I find that of seven hundred cases that I examined before the Grand Jury one hundred and twenty were Chinese, principally burglaries, grand larcenies, and murders — chiefly burglary. They are very adroit and expert thieves. I have not had time to examine for the last two and a half years, but the proportion has largely increased during that time.
Q. — Do you find any difficulty in the administration of justice, where they are concerned ?
A. — Yes, sir. In capital cases, particularly, we are met with per- jury. I have no doubt but that they act under the direction of superiors, and swear as ordered. In many cases witnesses are spir- ited away, or alibis are proven. They can produce so many wit- nesses as to create a doubt in the minds of jurymen, and thus escape justice. In cases where I have four or five witnesses for the prosecu- tion, they will bring in ten or fifteen on the part of the defense. They seem to think that numbers must succeed, and it very frequently so happens. It frc(|uently occurs that before the Grand Jury, or on preli]niii;iry c'xiiiuination, witnesses swear so as to -convict, but on the trial (licy tuiii square around and swear the other way. I have heard i( ^^aid that they have secret tribunals where they settle all these things, but 1 know nothing of that. It is my impression that something of tlie kind exists, and I think they sometimes use our
Address to the People of the United States.
11
Courts to enforce their decrees. I have had to appeal 1o Excrntive clemency for pardon for Chinamen sent to the Statf rrisoii false swearing, under circumstances which led me to lu'licvu them u< have been the victims of some organization of that kind. Q. — Innocent men can be convicted?
A. — Yes ; and I have no doubt innocent men are convicted llinnioli the mediurn of perjury and "jobs" fixed up on them. J ]ia\L> had doubts, during the last three months, in cases of magnitude, involv- ing long terms of imprisonment.
_ Q— Among reputable lawyers of this city, who have had expe- rience with Chinese testimony in the Courts, what value has tliat testimony, standing by itself?
A. — By itself, and without being corroborated by extrinsic facts or white testimony, it is very unreliable.
Mr. Ellis, Chief of Police of the City of San Francisco, and who has been attached to the police force of that city for twenty years, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 112) : " That it is generally believed that the Chinese have a Court where differences are settled ; and that, if, in secret, it determines to convict or acquit a Chinaman (on trial before our Courts) that judgment is carried out. In a great many cases I believe they have convicted innocent men upon per- jured evidence."
Ah Dan, the Chinese interpreter of one of the Sacramento Courts, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 121 and 122) :
Q. — Do you know District Attorney Jones ? A.— Yes, sir.
Q. — Did you tell him last week that some of them threatened to kill you?
A. — Yes, sir; some of them. A man came to me a few days ago and told me they were going to kill a Police Court interpreter, advising me to leave the city, because he said somebody would come and kill me; some men had put up rewards, and some men whom I did not know were coming from San Francisco to kill me. I was before the Grand Jury and explained the game of "tan," and for this they put up the reward, and I am to be killed by tlirce men from San Francisco I don't know. The reward offered for my life is five or six hundred dollars. I have heard of rewards of tliis kind huing put up here and elsewhere. I have not seen any liere, hut have in San Francisco. They are in Chinese, and posted up, sa> inu that these men will make agreement, if some man kill another, t'l pay tlie murderer so much money. These agreements for niurder arr red papers written in Chinese, and say they will give so much mom y on condition you kill so-and-so, naming the person. If the murderer is arrested they will get good counsel to defend him. If he i< sent to prison, they will pay him so much money to recompense liirn. and if he is hung they will send. so much money to his relatives in ( liina.
Q. — Did you go to officer Jackson and ask him u(:)t to suhpana you, if he could help it, in the Hung Hi case?
A. — Yes. I said to him, "I don't know about the case. If you put me on the stand, and it don't go as they want it, they will l:)lame me."
Q. — Didn't you tell him you were afraid they would kill you?
12
Address to the People of the United States.
A. — I did tell him so. Q. — You were afraid ?
A. — Yes, sir. I told Charley O'Neil some put up money to kill me. He told me not to fear— to keep a look out for myself. In case I testify here to all I know, I'm afraid they will kill me.
Mr. Charles T. Jones, who for several years past has been the able and efficient District Attornej^ of Sacramento County (the county in which is located our State Capitol), testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 124 and 125) :
A. — During my term of office I have had considerable to do with Chinese criminals, and always have great difficulty in convicting them of any crime. I remember well the case of Ah Quong, spoken of a few moments ago by Ah Dan. At the time I was defending three parties charged with kidnaping, and I had Ah Quong as interpreter, knowing him to be honest and capable. The circum- stances of the case were these: A Chinaman wanted to marry a woman then in a house of prostitution. She desired to marry him, and he went with two of his friends to the house. She went with them. They drove out of town to get married, when the Chinaman who owned her heard of it and started some officers after her. She was arrested and surrendered to these Chinamen, with instructions to bring her into Court next day. I had this man to interpret for me, being well satisfied that she would swear that she was not being kid- napped. The next day the owners brought into Court a woman whom the defendants informed me was not the one at all, but another. The attorneys for the_ other side insisted that it was, believing the statements of their Chinamen to that effect. The case was postponed for two or three days, when it was shown that the woman offered was not the one taken away. This interpreter told me they would kill him as sure as these defendants were not convicted. We went out of the Court-room, and he told rae he was afraid to go on I street. I told him not to go then, but I did not think they would trouble him. Half an hour afterwards he was brought back, shot in the back, and a hatchet having been used on him, mutilating him terribly. This was in broad daylight, about eleven o'clock in the morning, on Third and I streets, one of the most public places in the City of Sacramento. There were hundreds of Chinese aroujid there at the time, but it was difficult, in the prosecution of the case, to get any Chinese testimony at all. It happened that there were a few white men passing at the time, and we were enabled to identify two men, and they were convicted and sent to the State Prison for life, after three trials. They attempted to prove an alibi, and after swearing a large lot of Chinamen they said they had twenty more. The Chinese use the Courts to gain possession of women. Sometimes it happens that where a man is married to a woman, they get out a warrant for his arrest, and before he can get bail they have stolen the woman and carried her off to some distant place. I have had Chinamen come to me to find out how many witnesses I had in cases. If they found out they would get sufficient testimony to over- ride me. Before I was District Attorney I have had Chinese come to me to defend them, and ask me how many witnesses I wanted, and what was necessary to prove in order to acquit.
Address to the People of the United States.
13
Q. — Do you often find that upon preliminary examinations and before the Grand Jury there is enough testimony to warrant a con- viction, but on the trial these same witnesses swear to an exactly opposite state of facts ?
A. — V ery frequently.
Q. — To what do you attribute that ?
A.— I attribute that to the fact that they had tried the case in Chi- nese Courts, where it had been finally settled. I have records in my office of a Chinese tribunal of that kind, Avhere they tried ort'enders according to their own rules, meted out what punishment they deemed proper, etc. These records were captured in a room on I street, between Fourth and Fifth. I had them translated by an intei-- preter from San Francisco, and used them on the trial of the rob- bery cases. The records recite that the members enter into a solemn compact not to enter into partnership with a foreigner; that a cer- tain man did so, and the company off'ers so many round dollars to the man who will kill him. They promise to furnish a man to assist the murderer, and they promise, if he is arrested, they will employ able counsel to defend him. If convicted, he should receive, I think, three dollars for every day he would be confined, and in case lie died, certain money would be sent to his relatives. These records appeared in evidence and were admitted ; also, a poster that was taken from a house, offering a reward for the killing of this man. This poster was placed on a house in a_ public street. Being written in Chinese, of course they alone knew its contents, and informed us of them.
Mat. Karcher, for many years past Chief of Police for the City of Sacramento, testifies as follov/s, (Evidence, pp. 128 and 129) :
Q. — Do you know anything about their putting up offers of rewards upon walls and street corners, written in Chinese, for the murder or assassination of given Chinanien ?
A. — Yes. Of course I could not read Chinese, but I secured some of these posters, and had an interpreter from San Francisco come up here and interpret them. They were rewards for the murder of some Chinamen who did something contrary to their laws. They have their own tribunals where they try Chinamen, and their own laws to govern them. In this way the administration of justice is often defeated entirely, or, at least, to a very great extent. I know tliis, because I was present at a meeting of one of their tribunals about seven years ago. There was some thirty or forty Chinamen there, one appearing to act as Judge. Finally, the fellow on trial was convicted and had to pay so much money, as a fine for the commission of the offense with which he was_ charged. _ Generally, their punishments are in the nature of fines; but sometimes they sentence the defend- ant to death. In cases in the Police Court we have often found it difficult to make interpreters act. They Avould tell us tliat they would be killed if they spoke the truth ; that their tribunals would sentence them to death, and pay assassins to dispatch them. Al)out two years and a half or three years ago Ah Quong was killed. Dur- ing the trial, at which he was interpreter, there were a great many Chinamen. I stationed officers at the doors, and then caused each one to be searched as he came out of the room, the interpreter haying told me that he feared they would murder him. Upon these China-
14
Address to the People of the United States.
men I found all sorts of weapons — hatchets, pistols, bowie-knives, Chinese_ swords, and many others. There were forty-five Aveapons in all, I think, concealed about their persons in all kinds of ways. The interpreter testified in that case, and half an hour after leaving the Court-room he was brought back, shot, and cut with hatchets. He was terribly mutilated, and lived only a few moments after being brought to the station-house. The murderers were arrested, but attempted to prove an alibi, and had a host of Chinese witnesses present for that purpose. Although there were some hundreds of Chinese present at the time of the murder, the prosecution was forced to rely upon the evidence of a few white men who chanced to see the deed committed. We' were opposed at every turn by the Chinamen and the Chinese companies. As a general thing it is utterly impos- sible to enforce the laws with any certainty against those people, while they will themselves use our laws to persecute innocent men who have gained their enmity. They seem to have no ideas con- cerning the moral obligation of an oath, and care not for our form of swearing.
Lem Schaum, a Christian Chinaman, testifies as follows, (Evi- dence, p. 139) :
Q. — Do you know anything about notices of rewards being posted up in Chinese quarters in San Francisco or here, for the punishment of certain men — a notice of this kind : Five hundred dollars or six hundred dollars will be given for the assassination or murder of some Chinaman?
A. — I do. That is a Chinese custom. When members of a com- pany do anything against the rules of that company they are pun- ished. Suppose one member of a company comes to me and says: "Go and steal a woman from a Chinaman," and I do so for him. Because I favor him, his enemies prove I stole the woman, and put up a reward of five hundred or one thousand dollars to have me killed. That is the Avay they do.
Q. — Do they post those rewards up publicly ?
A. — I think not ; I think they do that in secret.
Q. — Has it been your experience that those secret judgments are carried into execution ?_
A. — * * Every time.
Q. — Almost every time a judgment is entered that a man shall die, and they ofl:er so much money to have him killed, the man is killed ? A.— Exactly.
Q. — They take every advantage?
A. — Yes, sir. '
Q. — That is regarded as a death sentence?
A. — Yes, sir. The man knows he has to die, but gets out of the way if he can.
Q. — That makes it difficult for any Chinamen, if they are disposed, to protect women ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — If a Chinaman takes a woman to the Mission, that sort of reward will be offered? A. — Yes, sir; most likely.
Q. — Do you know of their custom of settling cases that get into the
Address to the People of the United States.
15
Courts? For instance, a Chinaman is arrested for kidnai)iii<>- one of these women. Do you know anything about their si ttliim that among themselves and keeping the testimony aAvay from the ( '(nu ts? A. — I believe they do that.
Q. — They have some sort of tribunal in which they settle this thin.i;- for themselves? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Have they a tribunal which punishes for offenses against their customs?
A. — Yes, sir. For instance, suppose I should march myself out and kill a Chinaman. I am brought before the company and made to pay a fine. They take the money and send it back to the family of the killed party to support his mother.
Q. — If you kill a member of the See-yup Company, the See-yup Compa,ny will determine, through this tribunal, that you shall pay so much money?
A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Suppose you pay that money?
A.— Then I will be all right.
Q. — They would not try to punish you by law?
A. — No, sir.
Q. — Suppose you refuse to pay the money ? A.— I must go through the American Courts.
Mr. Ellis. Chief of Police for San Francisco, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 112) :
Q. — What are the difficulties in the way of enforcing laws in casrs where the Chinese are concerned?
A. — TJae Chinese will swear to anything, according to orders. Their testimony is so unreliable that they cannot be believed.
Q. — What is the greatest difficulty in the way of suppressing pros- titution and gambling?
A. — To suppress these vices would require a police force so great that the city could not stand the expense. It is difficult to adminis- ter justice, because we do not understand their language, and thus all combine to defeat the laws.
Q. — What is their custom of settling cases among themselves, and then refusing to furnish testimony?
A. — It is generally believed to be true that the Chinese liave a Court of arbitration where they settle differences.
Q. — After this settlement is made, is it possible to obtain testimony from the Chinese?
A.— If in secret they determine to convict a Chinaman, or to acquit him, that judgment is carried out. In a great many cases 1 helievo they have convicted innocent men through perjured evidence.
Mr. Davis Louderback, for several years past .Judge of the Police Court of San Francisco, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 93) :
Q. — What do you know about the habits, customs, and social and moral status of the Chinese population of this city ?
A. — I think they are a very immoral, mean, mendacious, dishonest, thieving people, as a general thing.
16 Address to the People of the United States.
Q. — What are the difficulties in the way of the administration of justice where they are concerned?
A. — As witnesses, their veracity is of the lowest degree. They do not appear to realize the sanctity of an oath, and it is difficult to enforce the laws, where they are concerned, for that reason. They are very apt, in all cases and under all circumstances, to resort to perjury and the subornation of perjury. They also use our criminal law to revenge themselves upon their enemies, and malicious prose- cutions are frequent.
Mr. Charles Wolcott Brooks, for sixteen years Japanese Consul in San Francisco, and one of the attaches of the Japanese Embassy to the Great Powers, testifies (Evidence, p. 37) that one of the great difficulties about this immigration "is the organization of a foreign hostile force within the territory of the United States. It is a very difficult thing, however, to tell how you are going to administer jus- tice when Chinese tribunals of that kind exist. It is practically impossible. The Chinese are very deceitful, and that very deceit is an indication of a weaker race. A weak man makes up in lying what he lacks in strength. They feel that weakness, and they con- ceal it by strategy and deceit."
And, again, (Evidence, p. 38) :
"The Chinese are bad for us, because they do not assimilate and cannot assimilate v/ith our people. They are a race that cannot mix with other races, and we don't wish them to. The Chinese are bad for us, because they come here without their families. Families are the centers of all that is elevating in mankind, yet here Ave have a very large Chinese male population. The Chinese females that are here make this element more dangerous still."
And, again, (Evidence, pp. 42 and 43):
Q. — Do you think that they (the Chinese) have any particular love for our institutions?
A. — I don't think they have any at all. They come purely as a matter of gain — as a matter of dollars and cents. If it is profitable, they will come. If it is not profitable, they will not come. The very fact of their retaining their own dress and customs, and keeping themselves so entirely separate, as a people, shows that they have not. Contrast them with the Japanese. The Japanese who go abroad are persons who have money to spend, and they go for pleasure and infor- mation. They adopt the manners and customs of Americans. Our dress and our language they seek. The Chinese come abroad, not to spend, but to accumulate. They maintain their own customs and language. The Japanese like our institutions. The Chinese do not, but hate us most cordially, and hate the Japanese more than any other people — a hate which is as cordially returned by the Japanese. There is nothing in common between them. In eighteen hundred and forty-two, the population of China was four hundred and thir- teen million two hundred and sixty-seven thousand and thirty. That is the latest census that I have any account of.
Q. — Japan is a young, growing country?
Address to the People of the United States.
17
A.— Yes, sir. Compared with China, it is like comparing a young, growing nation with an old, dying one. It is generally supposed that they are the same race; but this is not so. They are of abso- lutely different origin, and there is no sympathy, no similarity between them. They are an enterprising people. I think that the Japanese are of Turkish blood; of the same race as the Turks or Arabians.
HUMAN SLAVERY.
The Chinese have, through certain guilds or companies, established a peculiar, but revolting, kind of slavery upon the Pacific Coast. Hundreds of Chinese women are bought and sold at prices ranging from three to eight hundred dollars. These women are compelled to live as prostitutes for the pecuniary j)rofit of their owners; they are under constant and unceasing surveillance; they are cruelly beaten if they fail to make money for their owners; and they are left to starve and die uncared for when they become sick or unprofit- able. The great majority of these slaves do not know that they have rights, though they would be glad to escape if they could. Some- times they wish to marry and escape with their chosen husband, but they are speedily kidnaped and returned to their owners.
Sometimes their owners invoke the aid of our Courts, arrest the Chinese who seek to marry these women, upon some criminal charge, and keep them in prison until they obtain possession of the women, when the prosecution is suffered to go by default. Warrants are easily procured for these purposes, because our officers are ignorant of the Chinese language, and because of the extraordinary cunning of the Chinamen who control this business. And thus these women are held in slavery for life without hope of relief.
We do not charge the better classes of the Chinese, or the six com- panies, with complicity in this crime, and we are confident that they desire the suppression of this evil. It is evident, therefore, that this form of slavery is sustained by an organization which is all-powerful as against the six companies and the municipal and State govern- ments of California.
The Rev. Otis Gibson, a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church, formerly a missionary to China, and now at the head of the Chinese Mission of that church in the City of San Francisco, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 33) :
The women as a general thing are held as slaves (referring to the Chinese women in this State). They are bought or stolen in China and brought here. They have a sort of agreement, to cover up the slavery business, but it is all a sham. That paper makes the girl say that she owes you four hundred dollars or so, passage money and outfit from China, and has nothing to pay. I being the girl, this man comes up and offers to lend me the money to pay you if I will agree to serve him, to prostitute my body at his pleasure, wherever he shall put me, for four, five, or six years. For that promise of mine, made on the paper, he hands him the four hundred dollars, and I pay the debt I owe you according to contract. It is also put in the contract that if I am sick fifteen days no account shall be taken of that, but if I am sick more than that I shall make up double. If 3
18
Address to the People of the United States.
I am found to be pregnant within a month, you shall return the money and take me again. If I prove to have epilepsy, leprosy, or am a stone woman, the same thing is done.
Q. — Are these contracts regarded as moral among the people who make them?
A. — Well, there is a certain class of knaves among Chinamen who have no morals at all.
Q. — These contracts are sustained by the great mass of Chinamen here, are they not ?
A. — I think there is in existence now— there has been — a company of men engaged in this traffic of women ; not the six companies, but a guild like the Washing Company. They have their rules and their regulations, and they stand by each other. One of these companies is called the Hip-ye-Tong. When a Chinaman runs away with a woman from one of these brothels and marries her, he is followed by these companies and asked to pay them her value or look out for the consequences. It is a common thing for them to use the processes of our Courts to protect their interests — their assumed rights. If a woman escapes from a brothel, she is arrested for some crime, and possession is obtained in that way. Where she marries, the chances are that both man and woman will be arrested, or the man will be arrested and the woman run off to some other place. Sometimes Chinese come to me to get married. I don't care to marry them, and, to discourage it have set my price at ten dollars, whereas the Justices' fees are only two dollars. They seem to have a sort of indefi- nite and unreasonable idea of protection when they come to me.
Q.— You used the term " stone woman." What do you understand by that? _
A. — I did not know and asked them. They said it was a woman so naturally disabled that a man could not have any intercourse with her.
Q. — Then, so far as the women are concerned, they are in slavery, with more hard features than have been known to white races ?
A — Yes, sir. And even after the term of prostitution service is up, the owners so manage as to have the women in debt more than ever, so that their slavery becomes life-long. There is no release from it.
Q,. — When these people become sick and helpless, what becomes of them ? A.— They are left to die. Q. — -No care taken of them ? A. — Sometimes, where the women have friends. Q. — Don't the companies take care of them ? A. — Not frequently.
Q. — Is it not a frequent thing that they are put out on the side- walk to die, or in some room without water or food?
A. — I have heard of such things; I don't know. I don't think they are kind ; I think they are very unkind to the sick. Some- times the women take opium to kill themselves. They do not know they have any rights, but think they must keep their contracts, and believe themselves under obligations to serve in prostitution.
Q. — What is their treatment ? Is it harsh ?
A. — They have come to the asylum all bruises. They are beaten and punished cruelly if they fail to make money. When they become
Address to the People of the United States.
19
worn out and unable to make any more money, they are turned out to die.
The Rev. A. W. Loomis, a Presbyterian clergyman, at the head of the Chinese Mission established by his church in San Franci.^co, says, (Evidence, pp. 55 and 56) :
These Chinawomen that you see on the streets here were brought for the accommodation of white people, not for the accommodation of Chinese ; and if you pass along the streets where they are to be found, you will see "that they are visited not so much by Chinese as by others — sailors and Ioav people. The women are in a condition of servitude. Some of them are inveigled away from home under prom- ise of marriage to men here, and some to be secondary wives, while some are stolen. They are sold here. Many women are taken from the Chinese owners, and are living as wives and as secondary wives. Some have children, and these children are legitimate.
Q. — These women engaged in prostitution are nothing more than slaves to them ?
A. — Yes, sir ; and every one would go home to-day if she were free and had hqr passage paid.
Q.— They are not allowed to release themselves from that situa- tion, are they ?
A. — I think they are under the surveillance of men and women, so that they cannot get away. They would fear being caught and sold again, and carried off to a condition even worse than now.
Q.— Are not the laws here used to restrain them from getting away — are they not arrested for crime?
A. — Oh, yes. They will trump up a case, have the woman arrested, and bring people to swear what they want. In this way they manage to get possession of her again. _
Q.— Have they at any time interfered with the women brought to your mission?
A. — We have not at our Mission, but I think Mr. Gibson has had interference from them.
Q. — Do you know what they do with the women when they become sick and useless ?
A. — do not know. I have seen some on the street that looked in bad condition, and I have heard of their being abandoned to die, but I have never seen any case of that kind.
Q. — Do you know how they treat these people?
A. — -I understand they treat them very badly. "Women have come to the Home with bruises and marks of violence on their per.-ons. I think their condition is a very hard one.
Q.— Then it is a slavery which, from the very first, destroys body, soul, and everything else?
A. — Yes, sir; and the women would be glad to escape from it if they knew they would be protected.
Mr. Alfred Clark, for nineteen years past connected with the police force of San Francisco, and for the last eight years Clerk of the Cliief of Police, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 63) : '" In regard to the vice of prostitution, I have here a bill of sale of a Chinawoman, and
20
Address to the People of the United States.
a translation of the same." Witness submits a paper written in Chinese characters, and reads the translation, as follows :
An agreement to assist the woman Ah Ho, because coming from China to San Francisco she became indebted to her mistress for pass- age. Ah Ho herself asks Mr. Yee Kwan to advance for her six hun- dred and thirty dollars, for which Ah Ho distinctly agrees to give her body to Mr. Yee for service of prostitution for a term of four years. There shall be no interest on the money. Ah Ho shall receive no wages. At the expiration of four years Ah Ho shall be her own master. Mr. Yee Kwan shall not hinder or trouble her. If Ah Ho runs away before her time is out, her mistress shall find her and return her, and whatever expense is incurred in finding and returning her Ah Ho shall pay. On this day of agreement Ah Ho, with her own hands, has received from Mr. Yee Kwan six hundred and thirty dollars. If Ah Ho shall be sick at any time for more than ten days, she shall make up by an extra month of service for every ten days sickness. Now, this agreement has proof— this paper received by Ah Ho is witness.
TUNG CHEE.
Twelfth year, ninth month, and fourteenth day (about middle of October, eighteen hundred and seventy-three.)
The Chinese women are kept in confinement more by fear than by anything else. They believe the contracts to be good and binding, and fear the consequences of any attempt at escape.
Mr. Clark was recalled, and testified as follows, (Evidence, p. 69):
Q. — Suppose a Chinawoman escapes, what do the owners do ?
A.-Foll ow her and take her back. If they fail, they generally have her arrested for larceny, and get possession in that way. They use the processes of our Courts to keep these women in a state of slavery. They do not let them get out of their clutches, however, if they can help it, for they know that there is no legal way of reclaim- ing them. When they become sick and helpless, there are instances where they have been turned out to die. The bones of women are not returned to China, as are the bones of the men. The six companies do not control this woman business ; it is under the management of an independent company, called the Hip-ye-Tong. Whether they import the women or not, I don't know, but they look after affairs here. A Chinaman married a woman at Gibson's, and after the marriage received notice that he must pay for the woman or be dealt with according to the Chinese custom. He was made to believe that he would suffer personally if he did not comply with their demands. Acting upon information, we arrested a number of them, and got some of their books, which we had translated. On the rolls, I think there were one hundred and seventy women. Seven or eight Chinamen were arrested, but all the witnesses we could get for the prosecution did not exceed three or four, and no conviction was had.
He also produced other " bills of sale" similar to the one above quoted, which had been taken by the police.
Address to the People of the United States.
21
Mr. Andrew McKenzie, a local officer, testifies as follows, (Evi- dence, p. 89) :
Q. — How are Chinese women held here ?
A. — I think Mr. Rogers can inform you on that point better than I can. He was employed by the Chinese up at the barricoon. * * Q. — What do you mean by barricoon ?
A. — A place where women coming from the ships are placed. It is underneath the joss-house or the old theatre fronting on St. Louis Alley, and running to Dupont Street. They are kept there until apportioned out.
Q. — Is it not a notorious fact that these Chinese prostitutes are held as slaves, subject to the pleasure of their owners? A. — Yes, sir.
Wong Ben, a Chinaman in the service of the San Francisco police force, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 100) :
Q. — Who bring the Chinese women here?
A. — Wong Fook Soi, Bi Cliee, An Geo, and AVong Woon.
Q. — What do these men do?
A. — They keep gambling-houses and houses of prostitution. Q. — To what company do these men belong?
A. — An Geo belongs to the See-yup Company; Wong AVoon to tlie Sam-yup Company. That fellow has got lots of money. He buys women in China for two hundred or three hundred dollors, and brings them'out here and sells them for eight hundred or nine hun- dred dollars, to be prostitutes.
Q. — How do they get those women in China ?
A. — In Tartary. They are " big feet" women, and are sometimes bought for ninety dollars. When they bring them out here tliey sell them for nine hundred dollars.
Q.— What do they do with them ?
A. — They make them be prostitutes. If they don't want to be prostitutes they make them be. Q. — Can they get away? A.— No, sir.
Q. — What do they do with them when they get sick and can not work any longer ?
A. — They don't treat them well at all. They don't take as much care of them, whether they are sick or well, as white people do a dog. Chinawomen in China are treated first rate, but in California these " big feet" women are treated worse than dogs.
Mr. Bovee testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 108) :
Q. — Are these prostitutes bought and sold and held in bondage ?
A. — Yes ; that has always been my idea.
Q. — How do they treat their sick and helpless?
A. — I have seen them thrown out on the street and on tlip side- walk, and I have seen them put into little rooms, without light, bed- ding, or food. They were left to die.
Q. — What opportunities have these women to escape, if they should desire ?
22
Address to the People of the United States.
A. — I don't see that they have any at all, for where a woman escapes a reward is offered and she is brought back. Where they can get her in no other way they use our Courts.
Charles P. O'Neil, an officer of the Sacramento police force, testi- fies as follows, (Evidence, p. 115):
Q. — Do you know how these women are held — whether they are owned by anybody, or whether anybody claims to own them ?
A. — Only from heresay. I have heard them (the Chinamen) fre- quently say that they bought them. On one occasion I was called into a Chinese house, and there saw four hundred and fifty dollars pass between a woman and a man. They wanted me to be a witness to the fact, and I witnessed it. Some time afterwards the woman told me that her boss had sold her for four hundred and fifty dollars. That was the contract I M'itnessed, but it being in Chinese I did not understand it at the time. The woman soon after committed suicide. She did not like this man to whom she had been sold, and committed suicide by drowning. From my experience as an officer, I know that these women are kept under close surveillance.
Q. — Is it possible for them to escape, or is there any reasonable probability that any of them could escape from that servitude ?
A. — No ; not without they are protected by the white people. I have known them to attempt to escape, and have known them to have been sent for and brought back. To do this they use different means, principally money. They use, also, the machinery of the American Courts to enforce these contracts, it being customary to have these women arrested for larceny or some crime, in order to get the more secure possession of them. In the prevention of this thing the principal difficulty lies in the fact that we don't understand their language. We do not know what they are getting at, and they will tell such well concocted stories that it is almost impossible to get at the truth as we can with white persons. A Chinaman has a right to go before a magistrate and make out that a crime has been commit- ted by a person, and a magistrate, having no means of ascertaining the truth, must issue his warrant.
This officer also testifies that these women are kept closely con- fined, and are often beaten ; that when one of them became sick or helpless they are turned out to die.
Mat. Karcher, for many years Chief of Police for Sacramento City, testifies, (Evidence, p. 131) :
Q,. — Do you know what they do with their sick Avhen they become helpless and unable to make more money? A. — Put them in some out-house, or on the sidewalk, to die. Q. — Without food or bedding?
A. — Generally. I have found men and women, both, in that con- dition. I have found them by accident, while hunting for other things — stolen goods, criminals, etc.
Q. — You found women without food or drink, and without cov- ering?
A. — Yes, sir.
Address to the People of the United States.
23
Q. — And death would have come from disease or starvation, or both ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Is that the common way of disposing of these women wlien they become useless ? A. — Yes, sir, if not the only way.
Q. — They are less cared for than are useless domestic animals by the white race ?
A. — A great deal less.
And, again, Mr. Karcher testifies, (Evidence, p. 128) :
A. — Where one is young and good looking, and makes plenty of money, she is well treated. Those who are unable to make much are treated very badly.
Q. — How young are the youngest that you know of as being held ?
A. — I have seen them as young as fifteen years.
Q. — What chance have they to escape from this life, if they desire ?
A. — They have very little chance.
Q.— Why is that?
A. — Because the Chinese will swear to almost anything, and if one is taken away by another she is simply run off into another locality
gone through with in order to get the woman, who may be beyond their reach. As soon as the newly-made husband gets possession of his bride, he turns her over to her former owners.
Q. — Do you know of cases where they have had Chinamen arrested and convicted of crime simply because they have interfered with them?
A. — Yes, sir. The arresting officer and the District Attorney have to be very careful lest they be made the instruments of sending inno- cent men to State Prison.
Mr. Duffield, an officer of the San Francisco police force, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 80):
Q. — How many families are there among the Chine^^e ? A. — Very few. I have never seen a decent, respectable Chinawo- man in my life.
Q. — -What is the understanding here in regard to the manner in which these women are held ?
A. — They are held in bondage, bought and sold. I have had bills of sale translated by Gibson.
Q. — Is it possible for these women to escape from that life, even if they desire it ?
A. — Sometimes the Chief of Police can give some protection, but it is customary for the owners to charge them witli crimes in order to get possession of them again. Sometimes they kidnap them, and even unscrupulous white men have been found to assist them.
Q. — Do you know what they do with them when they become sick and helpless ?
A. — They put them out on the street to die. I have had charge of the dead myself, on the street. I have seen sick and helpless women turned out in that way.
to be sold into slavery
Sometimes the farce of marrying is
24 Address to the People of the United States.
Lem Schaum, an intelligent Chinaman, a convert to Christianity, educated by Mr. Rowle and the Revs. Drs. Moore and Gamble, of Oakland, in this State, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 136 and 137):
Q. — Do you know how these bad women are brought here? A.— They are stolen and bought in China, and brought here the same as we buy and sell stock. Q. — Their condition is a very horrible one, then? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Do you know how they are treated ?
A. — Yes, sir. The parties who own them generally treat them pretty roughly. If they don't go ahead and make money the owners will give them a good thrashing.
Q. — Is it not very common, when those women try to get away, for the people who own them to have them arrested for larceny, and things of that kind ?
A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — They are held by fear of punishment if they try to escape ? A.— Exactly.
Q. — There are cases where Chinamen have cut them all to pieces with knives for running away, are there not? A. — I have never seen any, but this is what I have heard. Q,. — They torture them ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Do they buy and sell these women here? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — And hold them iia slavery ? A.— Exactly.
Mr. Oliver Jackson, a Sacramento police officer, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 143) :
Q. — Do you know how these Chinese prostitutes are held — whether in slavery or not ?
A. — I think they are all held in slavery. They are all bought and sold the same as horses and cows, bringing prices according to age and beauty.
Q. — Do 3^ou know how they are treated?
A. — As slaves, and punished as the owners may choose.
Q. — What sort of punishments are inflicted?
A.- — I do not know, only from hearsay.
Q. — What chance have these women to escape if they should so desire?
A. — Very little chance. Where they do get away they are gener- ally caught and brought back to the owners again.
Q. — Do they resort to the processes of our Courts in order to recover women who have escaped ?
A. — Yes, sir; in a great many cases to my knoAvledge. They will swear out a warrant for her arrest for grand lanceny or some felony. Sometimes it is sworn out against the man who has her, and some- times against both. As soon as they get possession of the woman, they trifle with the cases until they fall through. It is almost impos- sible for a woman to escape.
Address to the People of the United States.
25
Q. — Do_ you know what is done with these Avomen when they become sick, helpless, and incurably diseased ?
A. — Where they see that they will be of no further use to make money, they turn them out on the sidewalk to die. I have seen men and women also turned out to die in this manner. I have found dead men while searching for stolen property, and have had the Coroner attend to them.
CHINESE PROSTITUTION.
We now come to an aspect of the question more revolting still. We would shrink from the disgusting details did ]iot a sense of duty demand that they be presented. Their lewd women induce, by the cheapness of their offers, thousands of boys and young men to enter their dens, very many of whom are inoculated with venereal diseases of the worst type. Boys of eight and ten years of age have been found with this disease, and some of our physicians treat a half dozen cases daily. The fact that these diseases have their origin chiefly among the Chinese is well established.
The Hon. W. J. Shaw, a distinguished citizen of this State, whose opportunities for investigation have been ample, declares, (Evidence, p. 16) : " That prostitution in China is not regarded as a disgrace, but is regarded as a profession or calling. That the condition of the lower classes is as near that of brutes as can be found in any human society." Indeed, the Chinese appear to have very little appreciation of the weaker sex. Says Mr. Shaw, (Evidence, p. 16) : " It is nor are occurrence when a girl is born to place it on the street and abandon it to its fate." And, again, (Evidence, p. 19) : " The women in China occupy the same position as in most parts of Asia — virtually slaves ; mere creatures, to pander to the wishes of the males, and promote their happiness." And Mr. Charles Walcott Brooks, who, from his position, opportunities, and ability, is high authority upon this topic, observes, (Evidence, p. 42): " That the population of China has been decreasing lately, caused, in a great measure, by the scarcity of women. They drown their females as we drown kittens."
Dr. H. H. Toland, a man standing at the head of his profession, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 103 and 104) :
" I have practiced medicine in this State twenty-three years." Q. — And during that time have you had one of the leading posi- tions, from a medical point of view, in this city ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — You are the founder of the "Toland Medical University?" A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — A member of the San Francisco Board of Health ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Of what institution were you a graduate?
A. — Transylvania University, Kentucky, in eighteen hundre(l and thirty -two — one of the first Western Universities that was established at Lexington, Kentucky.
Q. — It has been stated that these Chinese houses of prostitution are open to small boys, and that a great many have been diseased. Do you know anything about that ? 4
26
Address to the People of the United States.
A. — I know that is so. I have seen boys eight and ten years old with diseases they told me they contracted on Jackson Street. It is astonishing how soon they commence indulging in that passion. Some of the worst cases of syphilis I have ever seen in my life occur in children not more than ten or twelve years old. They generally try to conceal their condition from their parents. They come to me and I help screen it from their parents, and cure them without com- pensation. Sometimes parents, unaware of what is the matter, bring their boys to me, and I do all I can to keep the truth from them.
Q. — Are these cases of frequent occurrence ?
A.' — Yes, sir. You will find children from twelve to fifteen that are often diseased. In consequence of neglect, they finally become the worst cases we have to treat.
Q. — What effect will that have upon the health of the community, in the end ?
A.— It must have a bad _ effect, because a great many of these children get secondary syphilis, and it runs until it becomes almost incurable. Under the most favorable circumstances it takes a long time to eradicate it, but when it becomes constitutional, it is an exceedingly difficult thing to cure it. When they come to me for treatment, they sometimes have secondary syphilis; sometimes chancre ; sometimes a tertiary form. Under most favorable circum- stances it takes two or three years to eradicate syphilis.
Q. — Unless you have complete control of the patient for that time, is it not certain that the seeds of the disease remain in the system through life?
A. — It destroys life. I can show a dozen cases in the County Hos- pital, where, if they recover, it will be after a long course of treatment, and some of them will not recover at all. The whole system becomes poisoned and debilitated. They are so diseased, and the system is so exhausted, perhaps by a big sore, or something of that sort, that they cannot be cured.
Q. — When syphilis assumes a secondary and tertiary form, what effect will it have upon the children of such persons?
A. — The disease is hereditary, and will be transmitted to the children. I have positive evidence of that in a family that I have been treating, where the children are diseased. The father had the disease when he married a healthy woman, and of three children born every one exhibited symptoms of syphilis.
Q. — From your observation what would you say as to the effect it must have upon this community if these Chinese prostitutes are allowed to remain in the country ?
A. — It will fill our hospitals with invalids, and I think it would be a very great relief to the younger portion of the community to get rid of them.
Q. — Judge Hager says, when he was in the United States Senate, and endeavored to take some steps to prevent immigration of this people, he was met by the proposition that their coming to this coun- try tended to advance Christian civilization, and the humanitarians of the East would not aid him for that reason. What is your opinion?
A. — It does not tend to the advancement of Christian civilization, but it has the contrary effect. There is scarcely a single day that there are not a dozen young men come to my office with syphilis or
27
gonorrhoea. A great many of them have not means (n ]<c li-catcd properly and the disease runs on until it becomes const i( iii inn;! I ; and in nine eases out of ten it is the ruin of them. 1 lia\c li ^ aiud a great many boys, and I have treated the parents. tSoiiKliiiics the parents would come, and after going through a course of treatment would bring their children.
Mr. Pierson — To what extent do these diseases come from Chinese prostitutes ?
A. — I suppose nine-tenths. When these persons come to me I ask them where they got the disease, and they generally tell me that they have been with Chinawomen. They think diseases contracted from Chinawomen are harder to cure than those contracted elsewhere, so they tell me as a matter of self-protection. I am satisfied, from my experience, that nearly all the boys in town, who have venereal dis- ease, contracted it in Chinatown. They have no difficulty there, for the prices are so low that they can go whenever they please. The women do not care how old the boys are, whether five years old or more, so long as they have money. _
Q. — Then the maintenance of this population in our midst, instead of advancing civilization, would seem to be a crime against it?
A. — That is my opinion.
Mr. Donovan—Haye you ever read or heard of any country in the world where there were so many children diseased as there are in San Francisco ?
A. — No, sir. I lived in a town of one hundred and fifty or two hundred students, and we had not many public houses, but the stu- dents were not near so diseased, in proportion to their number, as are the boys here in this city.
Mr. Haymond — Can you approximate the number of boys affected here during any given year ?
A. — I cannot tell exactly, because my attention has not.been par- ticularly directed to it; but I treat half a dozen every day in the year of three hundred and sixty-five days.
Q. — Is not that a fearful condition of things ?
A. — It is most frightful. Generally they are improperly treated, and the syphilis or gonorrhoea runs on from week to week until stricture results, and that is almost as bad as constitutional syphilis, because it requires a long time to cure it.
Mr. Gibbs, Chairman of the Committee on San Francisco Hos- pitals, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 88) : " There are many cases of young men in the hospital suffering from syphilis contracted in the Chinese quarter." Mr. David C. Woods testifies as follows, (Evi- dence, p. 113) :
Mr. Haymond — How long have you resided in this State ?
A. — Twenty-five years off and on.
Q. — What position do you hold ?
A. — Superintendent of the Industrial School.
Q.— How long have you occupied that position ?
A. — Two years and three months.
Q. — Do you know anything about the effect the presence of a large Chinese population has upon the boys that are growing up here ? A. — I think it has a very bad effect. I find that the larger proper-
28
Address to the People of the United States.
tion of boys who come to the school, large enough to cohabit with women, are afflicted with venereal diseases.
Q. — How many boys are usually in that school?
A. — One hundred and eighty, on an average.
Q. — What proportion do you think are affected with that disease ?
A.— 1_ think that, during the time I have been there, fifty have come with venereal diseases.
Q. — Do you attribute that to the presence of Chinese prostitutes in this city ?
A.— They tell me so themselves. I question them, and they say they got it in Chinatown.
Q. — What are the ages of those boys ?
A.- — We have had them as young as thirteen, with gonorrhoea ; they have all sorts of venereal diseases. There is no time that I have less than two or four down with them.
Mr. Karcher testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 131) :
Q. — Would boys be liable to visit the houses of white prostitutes ?
A. — They would not be so liable.
Q.— Why is that? _ A. — The prices are higher, and boys of that age will not take the liberties with white women that they do in Chinatown. In addi- tion to that, it can be said on behalf of the white women that they would not allow boys of ten, eleven, or fourteen years of age to enter their houses. No such cases have ever been reported to the police, while the instances where Chinese women have enticed these youths are very frequent. Some three years ago two boys, one thirteen and the other fifteen, were taken from a Chinese house of prostitution and brought to the Station House. One belonged here and the other to San Francisco. I met the San Francisco boy about a month after- wards, and found him suffering from a loathsome disease, which he said he contracted in that house.
Dr. Shorb, a graduate of the Univei'sity of Pennsylvania, and a member of the Board of Health of the City of San Francisco, fully corroborates the testimony of Dr. Toland. All physicians agree that the result must be a marked increase of disease in the generation to come.
The people of California are thus compelled to endure a form of slavery more obnoxious than any hitherto known in the history of the world, and we are more helpless in this connection than the Col- onies of England which are allowed to govern their internal affairs without interference from the home government.
CRIMINAL CLASSES.
The Pacific Coast has become a Botanj'' Bay to which the criminal classes of China are brought in large numbers, and the people of this coast are compelled to endure this affliction. We do not claim that all the Chinese belong to the criminal classes, for many well-behaved people are found among them. There are various grades of charac- ter among these people : The merchants and business men, Avho are often worthy of high esteem ; the cooks and house servants, who are
Address to the People of the United States.
29
often bright and trustworthy ; a class of laborers who are (lilis(>nt, a class of laborers who are extremely dishonest, and a largo numljcr of professional thieves and fighters.
We are confident that the criminal class outnumber the others in the proportion of seven to one. These criminal classes entail upon our city, county, and State governments an expense that we are not able to bear — indeed, an adequate effort to meet the necessities of the situation would bankrupt our treasuries. Our police force, our con- stabulary, and the machinery of our judicial system, are over- whelmed by the pressure of these necessities without ascertainable advantage to our people.
An additional and very heavy expense is imposed upon our people by the care of their sick, who are invariably cast into the streets and abandoned by their companions. A further expense is laid upon our people by their refusal to conform to our fire ordinances; indeed, our cities and villages are in constant danger of extensive conflagrations by reason of their mode of living.
And while these people entail upon us these heavy expenses they evade the payment of taxes to an extent not tolerated in any other country. They contribute nothing to the support of our hospitals, and the cost of maintaining the Chinese in our State Prison is in excess of the whole amount of property taxes paid by the Chinese population. And yet we have no means of knowing wlietber these convicts in our prisons are justly imprisoned or the victims of the malice of their own countrymen.
We claim that these facts, proved by the evidence of good men, show a condition of affairs which threaten, in time, to undermine the foundations of the Republic within the scope of country now occupied by the Chinese.
Upon the topics last referred to, we may be pardoned if we call the attention of Congress to some of the evidence taken before this com- mittee.
_ Mr. F. F. Low, a distinguished citizen who has held many posi- tions of honor and trust under the State and Federal Government, among which have been that of Governor of California, Representa- tive in Congress, and Minister to China, says, (Evidence, p. 5) : " That the immigration comes, with but slight exceptions, from the single Province of Canton, and that it is of the lowest class." The Rev. Otis Gibson (Evidence, p. 27), testifies as follows:
Q. — From what class is our Chinese immigration?
A. — From the lowest class.
Q. — By that you mean laborers.
A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Do you mean degraded in a moral sense?
A.— I think they are the lowest class of people. Most of the Chi- nese who come to this country are ignorant — very. I do not think there is one in five that can read a page of a book, and not one in ten that can read a small tract, or book, or newspaper through intel- ligently. Nearly all of them can read the signs over the stores; nearly all can do that much reading, but to take a book and read it, they cannot do it.
30
Address to the People of the United States.
Mr. W. J. Shaw says, (Evidence, p. 19):
Regarding their honesty, I can mention this fact, which may inter- est the Committee: I was assured by all the merchants with whom I conversed on the subject in the towns that I visited in China, where there are foreign merchants residing, that nobody hired a Chinese servant without taking a bond from some responsible per- son that he would be responsible for any thefts that servant might perpetrate. It was considered there, among those with whom I con- versed on the subject, that Chinamen are so constituted that they must sooner or later steal something. It is their nature. Conse- quently they are not trusted in any house until they bring their bondsmen. When thefts are committed, and they are not of rare occurrence, the bondsmen pay for the things stolen. As far as I know and heard, no one thought of hiring a servant without taking a bond to meet any deficiency caused by theft.
Mr. Altemeyer, an old resident of San Francisco, and a member of the firm of Einstein Brothers & Co., boot and shoe manufacturers, a firm that at one time employed from three to five hundred China- men, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 50):
Q. — Have you any contract for recompense for anything they steal? A. — Yes, sir. It is to the effect that in case a man is dishonest, or steals anything, the agent shall be responsible. Q,. — Have you found them dishonest? A. — I have, in several instances. Q. — Are they honest or dishonest, as a rule?
A.— They will bear close watching. I think they will take things whenever they can get a chance.
Q. — Has not your company compelled the Chinese company to make up losses amounting to four thousand dollars or five thousand dollars, from your Hayes Street establishment?
A. — Yes, sir; we made the contractors pay for all the goods we did not find. I think we made them pay one thousand dollars. They found a good many of the goods themselves and returned them to us. The goods were found in the boarding and lodging-houses.
Q. — From what you know about Chinamen would you, under any circumstances, be willing to trust them without watching?
A.— No, sir.
Captain R. H. Joy, of Liverpool, and master of the British steamer Crocus, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 76, 77, and 78) :
Q. — When did you arrive in California?
A. — Two days ago. I came here in command of the British steamer Crocus.
Q. — Did you bring any Chinese passengers? A. — Yes, sir; eight hundred and eighty-two. Q. — What is the character of these people?
A. — They do not hold a very good character in their own country. They were not so much trouble, however, as the papers have repre- sented. The accounts as published were highly embellished. We had a little trouble at first, but very soon stopped that.
Address to the People of the United States.
31
Q. — Is this class a desirable one for any country to have? A. — I don't think it is, because of the low moral condition of the people.
Q. — Have you been in Australia? A. — I have.
Q. — How are the Chinese treated there?
A. — Not very well. The inhabitants found that they wore l)oing crowded out by the Chinese, and have commenced driving them from the country. Large numbers are leaving. I brought two hun- dred and forty from Singapore, where they came from Australia in the Brisbane. I left them at Hongkong.
Q. — As an Englishman, what would you think if they were to overrun your country?
A. — It would behoove the Englishmen to drive them out.
Q.-Why?
A. — They work for lov/ wages, and they are not the class of people that we would like to have in our own country.
Q. — Why is it they can work for lower wages?
A. — They can live cheaper. A handful of rice, with water, will suffice for their meals.
Mr. Haymond — How do their morals compare with those of the English working classes?
A. — They are very much lower in every way.
Q. — What effect, do you think, the introduction of thirty thousand or forty thousand Chinamen into an English city would have?
A. — Their standard is so much lower, I don't think they would be allowed in any English city, and I hope never to see that happen.
Q. — In the vicinity of Canton, does an immense number of people live on the rivers?
A. — Yes. A great many live in boats, following the occupation of fishermen, and working around the ships.
Q. — What is the character of that people as law-abiding citizens?
A.— The Chinese Government is very rotten, and exercises but lit- tle control over these men. The mandarins levy as much tribute as they can on the people around them. I suppose they must pay, in their turn, to some higher authority.
Q. — Are any of them engaged in piracy?
A. — I would not like to say.
Q. — What is the prevailing impression among seamen who visit that port, as a rule?
A. — There are very many different opinions. The general opin- ion is not very favorable.
Q. — How do these people compare with the same classes of Eng- lish or German, about their homes?
A. — They are very much lower — far inferior.
Q. — Are their cities and towns clean or dirty?
A. — Very dirty, indeed. When one has been in a Chinese city once, he has no ambition to return to it again.
Q. — Have you visited the Chinese quarters in Australia?
A. — Yes, in Melbourne.
Q. — How are they there?
A. — Very dirty. Of course they are compelled to keep the streets clean, but that is as far as their cleanliness goes. I think the people
32
Address to the People of the United States.
are driving them out, now. It is being done by the people them- selves, not by the government.
Q. — Are there many women imported to that country ?
A. — 1 never saw any women there at all.
Q. — Do you think they would permit the landing of a ship load of prostitutes?
A. — I think it most certain that they would not.
BAYARD TAYLOR ON THE MORALS OP THE CHINESE.
Bayard Taylor says of them in his work entitled " India, China, and Japan,'^ published in eighteen hundred and fifty-five : " It is my deliberate opinion that the Chinese are, morally, the most debased people on the face of the earth. Forms of vice, which in other countries are barely named, are in China so common that they excite no comment among the natives. They constitute the surface level, and below them are deeps and deeps of depravity so shocking and horrible that their character cannot even be hinted. There are some dark shadows in human nature which we naturally shrink from penetrating, and I made no attempt to collect information of this kind; but there was enough in the things which I could not avoid seeing and hearing — which are brought almost daily to the- notice of every foreign resident — to inspire me with a powerful aver- sion to the Chinese race. Their touch is pollution, and, harsh as the opinion may seem, justice to our own race demands that they shoidd not be alloiued to settle on our'soil. Science may have lost something, but mankind has gained, by the exclusive policy which has governed China during the past centuries."
CRIMINAL PROPENSITIES OP THE CHINESE.
Mr. D. J. Murphy, District Attorney of San Francisco, testifies,. (Evidence, p. 83): " That from seven-tenths to eight-tenths of the Chinese population of San Francisco belong to the criminal classes."'
Chief of Police Ellis testifies, (Evidence, p. Ill):
Q. — It is in testimony that there are about thirty thousand Chinese living in this city (San Francisco), the most of them residing in seven or eight blocks. Do you know what proportion of that population is criminal ?
A. — I should say that there are about one thousand five hundred or two thousand regular criminals.
Q. — Including those who violate the city ordinances in relation to- fires .and health, and those who live off the wages of the criminal classes, what is the proportion ?
A. — I think almost the entire population.
Q. — Excluding from consideration the Chinese quarter, how are the laws and ordinances enforced in this city, as compared with other American cities?
A. — Favorably.
Mr. Duffield (Evidence, p. 48), testifies as follows :
Q. — How is this population (Chinese) as to criminal propensities?
Address to the People of the United. States.
33
A. — They are a nation of thieves. I liave never seen one that would not steaL
Q. — What is the proportion of criminals to the whole miinh( r? What is the proportion of men who follow crime for a livelihood? A.' — I call a man who will steal a criminal. Q. — Then nearly all will be criminals ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q.- — Do you know anything of their spiriting away witnesses and compounding crimes?
A. — Yes, sir. They will do it all the time — from tlie Presidents down.
Q. — Have they some means of settling cases outside of Court? A.— They all do it.
Q. — And there is no means of getting testimony outside of the Chinese? A.— No, sir.
Q. — And they settle criaxies whenever they can do so? A.— Sometimes one company will prosecute another, but Avhere they can settle for money, they will do it. Q.— Have they any regard for justice here? A. — No, sir; not a bit.
Q. — How does their testimony stand in the Courts?
A. — They think no more of taking an oath than they do of eating rice. They have no regard for our oaths at all. Their own oaths they regard as sacred, and the only way you can get them to tell the truth is to cut off a rooster's head and burn China paper. Tliey fol- lowed that systein here in early days, but not lately.
Q. — Is it not often the case that on a preliminary examination there is testimony enough to convict a man, but wdien you come to the trial these same witnesses testify exactly the reverse, or else will not testify at all ?
A. — Yes, sir.
John L. Durkee, Fire Marshal for twelve years past, of San Fran- cisco, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 53):
Q.— What has been your experience Avith fires in the Chinese quarter?
A.— They burn pretty badly. A fire in the Chinese quarter is very troublesome, for the reason that there are so many partitions. Out of an ordinary room they will make two and three stories, and wlien a fire gets in there it is hard to get at it. They are the most careless people wjtli fire that I ever saw in my life. There are as many lires there as in the balance of the city, and it is a miracle that there are not more.
Q. — You have been through a great many of these buildings, have you not? A.— Yes, sir.
Q. — How do they conform to the laws and ordinances of the Board of Supervisors in relation to the fire ordinances?
A. — They don't conform at all. They are more trouble tlian all the white people put together.
Q.— From what part of the United States did you come?
A.— New York. 5
34
Address to the People of the United States.
Q. — How does the Chinese quarter here compare with the worst parts of New York of twenty -five years ago, in point of cleanliness?
A. — I could not make the comparison, this is so infinitely filthier. I never saw a place so dirty and filthy as our Chinese quarter.
Q. — Do you know the Globe Hotel, and its condition?
A. — I have not been in it for some time, but when I was there, it was like the balance; probably a little worse, if possible.
Q. — How near to the City Hall have the Chinese extended their quarters?
A. — They are within sight and hearing distance all around here, and very close to the business part of town. Property around here is constantly depreciating in value, because of the approach of the Chinese. The whites cannot stand their dirt and the fumes of opium, and are com.pelled to leave their vicinity. This part of the city has grown very little in eight years, while other portions have grown very much. Houses occupied by Chinese are not fit for white occupation, because of the filth and stench. Chinamen violate the fire ordinances, and unless we catch them in the act we cannot con- vict. They all swear themselves clear. The only way I can account for our not having a great fire in the Chinese quarter is, that the wood is too filthy and too moist from nastiness to burn. It has too much dirt on it to catch fire.
THEY PAY NO TAXES.
Mr. Badlam, Assessor of San Francisco, testifies, (Evidence, p. 82): " The population of San Francisco is about two hundred and fifty thousand ; of that about thirty thousand are Chinese. The Chinese pay about one three-thousandths part of the taxes."
The committee addressed circular letters to each County Assessor in the State, and from returns received, the assessed value of all property, real and personal, assessed to Chinese in this State, does not exceed one million five hundred thousand dollars. The rate of State tax is sixty-four cents on each one hundred dollars in value, and if the whole tax was paid, the revenue derived by the State from the property tax laid upon property held by Chinese would not exceed nine thousand six hundred dollars. _
The assessed value of all the property in the State is, in round numbers, six hundred million.
The total x-)opulation of the State is about seven hundred and fifty thousand, and the Chinese population is more than one-sixth of the whole.
The Chinese population, amounting to at least one-sixth of the whole population, pays less than one four-hundredth part of the revenue required to support the State Government.
The State appropriates ten thousand dollars per month for the support of the State Prison, the earnings of the prisoners falling that much short of maintaining the prison. It will be seen that the net cost to the State for each prisoner is about thirty cents per day ; and this without taking into consideration the cost of prison buildings.
The net cost to the State of keeping one hundred and ninety-eight Chinese prisoners in the State Prison is not less than twenty-one thousand six hundred dollars per annum, a sum twelve thousand
Address to the People of the Ihi itcd Stairs. 35
dollars in excess of the whole amount of the i)roi)erty tax collected from the Chinese population of the State.
SANITARY ASPECTS OF THE SUBJECT.
But we desire to call your attention to the sanitary aspect of tlic subject. The Chinese herd together in one si)ot, wln'thcr in city or Village, until they transform the vicinage into a perfect liivc— there they live packed together, a hundred living in a spare that would be insufficient for an average American family.
Their place of domicile is filthy in the extreme, and to a dc-ico that cleansing is impossible except by theabsolntc dr^tiuct ion of iIh- dwellings they occupJ^ But for the healthfulness of i.ui- clinian' wui- city populations would have long since been decimated l.y |u-tilence from these causes. And we do not know how long this natnial pi-o- tection will suffice us.
In almost every house is found a room devoted to opium sniol<ing, and these places are visited by white boys and women, -o tliat the deadly opium habit is being introduced among our peo|,le.
Leprosy, that scourge of eastern nations, exists anion- tlieni to some extent, and may be greatly increased by immigration and con- tagion.
Small-pox is domesticated among them by innoculation, and they are rarely free from the disease.
Senator Lewis, a member of this Committee, Avho made a personal inspection of the Chinese quarter of San Francisco, testifies as fol- lows, (Evidence, p. 45) :
"We went into places so filthy and dirty I cannot see how these people lived there. The fumes of opium, mingled with the odor arising from filth and dirt, made rather a sickening feeling creep over us. I would not go through that quarter again for anything in the world. The whole Chinese quarter is miserably filtliy, and I think that the passage of an ordinance removing them from the city, as a nuisance, would be justifiable. I do not unclerstand why a ]ies- tilence has not ere this raged there. It is probably owing to the fact that this is one of the most healthy cities in the world. The houses would be unfit for the occupation of white people, for I do not see how it would be possible to cleanse them, unless you l)urn u]) tlie whole quarter, and even then I doubt whether vou can get rid of the filth."
Officer Duffield (Evidence, p. 47,) testifies:
Q. — Taking the Chinese quarter as a whole, is it as filthy as it can be?
A. — Yes, sir. It cannot be much dirtier. Q. — Were you ever in New York City? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — Was there any part of that city, as it existed twenty years ago. that could be compared with the Chinese quarter?
A. — No, sir. The Five Points could not be compared with it. The Chinese quarter is dirtier and filthier than the Five Points were.
Address to the People of the United States.
Mr. Supple testifies, (Evidence, p. 80): "They live in small places, more like hogs than human beings."
Mr. Ellis, Chief of Police for San Francisco, testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. Ill):
Q. — Are you acquainted with the Chinese quarter of this city? A. — Yes, sir.
Q,. — What is their condition in relation to cleanliness? A. — Very foul and filthy.
Q. — Do you know of any quarter of any American or European city that will compare with it for filth ? A.— No, sir.
THE STATE GOVERNMENT POWERLESS.
It may be suggested that a remedy for these evils can be found in action by the State Government, or the influence which well regu- lated society wields in its own defense. To this suggestion there are many conclusive answers. The City of San Francisco is one of the best governed cities in the world. Its police force is as able and efficient as any, and yet the concurrent testimony of its most expe- rienced and reliable officers is, that it is impossible to suppress or punish crimes committed by the Chinese population. This popula- tion is chiefly confined to seven or eight blocks. These blocks con- stitute homes of refuge for the criminal classes. Secret tribunals, when arrests are made, interfere to protect the guilty and to punish the innocent. Our Courts swarm with Chinese witnesses, ready and willing to commit perjury to defeat the ends of justice. In the lan- guage of District Attorney Murphy: ''Such witnesses, in most cases, raise by their testimony that doubt in the minds of jurors, which, under our system, requires an acquittal." We cannot in this com- munity assume tliat a man is guilty and punish him. We must pro- ceed according to the forms of law and establish guilt beyond a rea- sonable doubt. These are cardinal rules in the administration of criminal jurisprudence by all English speaking people. These rules fail when applied to a people who have no ideas of justice in com- mon with ours; to a people which, in its own land, cannot be restrained from crime and outrage even by the power of a despotic government.
It may be urged that local laws would prevent Chinese prostitu- tion, and the consequences which flow from it. In reply, we beg to submit that in the best goverened cities in the Eastern States all efforts to prevent prostitution have failed. If failure has been the rule without a single exception in the Eastern cities, what success could be expected from local laws on this coast, when the problem to be solved contains every factor known to the evil in the East, and has added that of an alien race which esteems it a legitimate busi- ness, and by craft and subtlety uses our laws to pi-otect it. We must meet facts in the face. It is a fact, beyond question, that so long as this traffic in women is permitted there is no power in the State Gov- ernment sufficient to protect our people from its consequences. The State Government has exhausted every power to that end, and has failed to prevent the importation of these female slaves. Stringent laws were enacted by the State Legislature to prevent this traffic. In eighteen hundred and seventy-four the steamer Japan arrived at the
Address to the People of the Uintrd Shttrs. :\1
port of Sail Francisco from China, havin.u on Ixiavd I V(>nt y-onc Chi- nese women, some of whom had been ])UiTli;is( (l and some stolen from their homes. Tlie Commissioner of Innuimation, adin.u nndcr the State law, forbid their landing and reqnircil tln ii' n lmn 1m tlicii- homes. The State Courts sustained his action and (lie wnincii \\ci-c about to be returned when a writ of habeas cori)U< \va> I'l-Din the Circuit Court of the United States, and upon linal In ai inu the State law was held to be in violation of the Federal law-. 'I'ln' i licet of the judgment of the Federal Court was to give tho-e wmhk n to their owners, and they were in fact taken to the barracndus and poi-- tioned out to their masters. This is probably tlie lir-i in>tani i' in the history of the world in which the "great writ " lia< Imm o n.-i d to consign human beings to a slavery worse than deatli. Lei p,- remind you that the hearts of the Northern people were -tii red w hen, in obedience to the mandates of the Federal Constitiitieii and laws made in pursuance thereof, fugitive slaves weie ivtnrned to their masters. That afterward, during the civil war, the wliole power of the Federal Government was used to abolish slavery wh(;re it existed by virtue of local laws and the wishes of the people, ralilnrnia'.-; Constitution, framed more than a quarter of a century a-o, and adopted by a nearly unanimous vote, declares that nt ifher shivery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within lier limit-, -ave as a punishment for crime. Her generous people liave al\\a>- upheld that sentiment. Yet, to-day, within her borders, in delianee of her laws, against the wishes of her people, slavery does exist in a lorni more loathsome than ever known in a white community. It exists by virtue of the power wielded by Federal Courts. \\'e will not believe that the people of our sister States are cognizant of these horrible facts. We bring them to your attention, and demand, in the name of humanity, that all obstacles placed by the Feileral < e)v- ernment to the emancipation of these unfortunate oimulis. or u. the prevention of this traffic in human bodies and soul<, be i-emi>ved. The people of this State have done their duty ; the re^pen-ibilitx- fi.)r a further continuance of this state of affairs rests with the iie(»ple of our sister States.
CAUSE OF CHRISTIANITY NOT ADVANCED.
An idea is abroad that the cause of religion and Christian civiliza- tion is to be advanced by the presence of this people in our midst. There is no foundation in fact for the notion that by means of the Chinese on this coast the religion of mercy, love anil praeimi^ eharity is to be given to the people of the Chinese l']mpire. A\"e have r.ver one hundred thousand Chinese in this State, and it i- nmre tlian likely that in the last twenty-five years four times that nundier have in this State been brought in contact with our people' ami ehurehes. Yet, of all this vast horde, not four hundred have been lironght to a realization of the truths of Christianity, Xor is tlii< the taull of our people. Earnest, faithful, Christian men and women have, Avith a devotion seldom equaled, given to the cause their best endeavors. Christian missions have been founded, and Christian ministers have labored. The wealth of the churches have been poured out in vain. These great efforts have been futile. It is safe to say that where one soul has been saved, placed to the credit side, by reason of the pres-
38
ence of the heathen hordes on this coast, a hundred white have been lost by the contamination of their presence. The Rev. Otis Gibson, after nine years of zealous labor, says he has baptized thirty-six per- sons. (Evidence, p. 34.) The Presbyterian mission in San Francisco, under the charge of the Rev. A. W. Loomis, an earnest and zealous missionary laborer, has in seventeen years made eighty converts.
The Rev. H. H. Rice, of Sacramento, a Presbyterian clergyman of more than ordinary ability, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 161 and 162):
A. — I am a minister of the gospel. I am pastor of the Westmin- ster Presbyterian Church, in this city.
Q.— State generally what efforts have been made by your church towards the conversion of the Chinese in our midst?
A. — There are two classes of efforts being made in relation to Chi- nese advancement, one secular and the other religious, although they are blended to some extent. We have a night school on Fourth Street, taught by a member of our church, where the Chinese are taught to read, and are given the elements of an ordinary school education. We do not teach them anything about the principles of our government. I believe that ought to be taught by the gov- ernment. The government ought to sustain Cliinese schools, and, as far as possible, modify the ignorance of the Chinese race. The persons attending our school are mostly adults. We think it is our duty, because the Board of Education has not thus far opened the public schools to the Chinese, to educate them, for we are con- vinced that Chinese immigration, if left to itself, will simply be a flood of heathenism poured on American soil. It is therefore the duty of the government to rise up and control it, and teach the Chi- nese American customs, and give them an education, in order to civ- ilize them. Our mission night school simply aims to give them a pvrely secular English education. They must be educated or excluded, and I do not believe it is possible to exclude them. The result of the meeting of the Chinese and the American civilizations is that the Chinese will come to this country, no matter what meas- ures are taken to prevent it. Their education is, therefore, a public necessity, and a move in the nature of self-protection. The burden of educating them ought not, however, to be thrown upon the State of California, but should be sustained by the Federal Government.
Q. — It is exclusion on the one hand, or education on the other?
A. — I will say that it is exclusion or education, and you cannot exclude them.
Q. — You assume that it is a public necessity that they be educated ? A.— It seems so to me.
Q,.— Do the Chinese come to this country to live? A.— No.
Q. — They are here for some temporary purpose? A. — Yes, sir.
The Rev. J. H. C. Bonte, Rector of Grace Church (Episcopal), in Sacramento City, a gentleman of culture and of deservedly high standing in the ministry, and one who has given to the question under consideration deep study, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 163 and 164):
Address to the People of the United States.
39
Q. — Have you had occasion to examine the effect which Chinese immigration is having upon the people of this State?
A. — Yes, sir. I have talked with the medical faculty in regard to the subject, and I have considered the question from a religious standpoint. The general moral effect has been very l)ad upon the young of this country. _ My judgment is based upon facts I have gained mostly from medical men in this city.
Q. — Men of standing in their profession?
A.— The ablest and best. The general effect, accordiniA Id nil the testimony I have gathered of their presence, has bc(_n ilci-lniahly bad in that direction. The conversion of the Chinese to ( 'liristiau- ity is a consummation hoped for and believed in by every Cljristian. I have no doubt whatever of the power of the gospel to regenerate the whole Chinese Empire. But Christian men differ as to the method by which this result is to be accomplished — the |irci i-c man- ner of reaching the Chinese. In theopinion of maiix- u-iml ,,l i . crs who have made this subject a study, this great result is In l)c aicuni- plished through Chinese instrumentality, and in their own country: while others believe that China is to be reached tlirough the conver- sion of the Chinese in America. The former believe that the char- acter of a nation is not to be changed by mere preaching, but by a steady process of religious training and culture, under teacliers of their own race. The missionary Avork of the pa^t pi-d^ rs the fact that a heathen nation can be generally or perinaucutly transformed only while in a settled condition, and while living in their natural surroundings. Christianity cannot be imposed u])on China, hut must be put into the Chinese; and this work will be slow until they undertake it themselves. The Chinese in California are not in a favorable condition to hear the gospel. They are hero simp]}' for the purpose of making money, and as they find the great IhkIv of our own people engaged in the same enterprise, their love of uiouey-uet- ting becomes intensified by contact with our own people. Tin y are, therefore, in a state of intense enthusiasm for gain, and ^a< i-i1i: i\ like many of our own countrymen, everything for this one oliie' t. The Christian Church in California finds one of its greate-t nh^tarle- in this passion among our own people, and if it operates di-a<n on-ly in the work of converting our own people, it must be even iimiv -i, in the Chinese work. Again, the Chinese now in this c-ouuti \" aiv i un- tinually on the move, and it is almost impossible to keeji a con- tinuous influence upon any one of them. AVe have control of them only for a few weeks or months, when they go to localities where nothing is or can be done for them. I cannot see, believing as I do in the necessity of thorough Christian training, an opportunity of doing them much good while in this country. Even those who may remain a year or two in the same place live under conditions which neutralize our efforts. The Christian teacher gains their attention only for a few hours, while their old ways and ideas have tlieir mn- tinuous attention. They learn lessons, hear sermons, and learn Christian songs, then return to their inaccessible den-, where tliey again come under the sway of their old system. In my mind it is very doubtful whether a well-trained Christian could maintain liis Christian character under similar conditions. Again, tlie Chinese are very keen observers, and let nothing pass unnoticed. We teach them Christianity, but they see our hoodlumism and crime, and
40
Address to the People of the United States.
wonder that our people reject a religion which we seek to give them. They easily discern the fact that the Christian people are in a small minority. The missionaries in all lands have found their greatest obstacle in their own irreligious countrymen, and here the same obstacle operates with increased force. Under these circumstances we have no right to expect special results in the conversion of the Chinese who live ainong us. Besides, the Christian Church in Cali- fornia is engaged in a severe struggle for its own existence. The nomadic habits of the people, their eager desire to make large for- tunes, their lack of religious training, weakens the church very materially. The mass of the people of California came here at an early clay, and they lived for many years without church privileges, and do not feel the necessity of churches as the people of older coun- tries do. They do not stop long enough in their struggles to think that their early Christian training at home made them what they are, gave them their sense of right and wrong, imparted to them their great energy and hopefulness, and therefore they undervalue the church. For these and other reasons the Christian Church in Cali- fornia is very weak. The church of the Pacific slope is not organ- ized for the stupendous undertaking of converting the Chinese. The clergy are fearfully overworked, and besides, they have no special training for this peculiar work. The laity do not live long enough in a place to get into harness and learn the art of working among the Chinese. Besides, both men and women in California work harder than the people of any other country; are more intensely occupied, and have less leisure. The Christian Church of the Pacific slope is therefore unprepared for this great emergency. The church has done its best, but that is comparatively little. It is foolish for Christian people in the East to expect much in the work of convert- ing the Chinese, from the church of this country. In my judgment, the Chinese exercise as much influence among the people_ of this coast in favor of paganism as the church among the Chinese in favor of Christianity. The Christian Church will continue its work as long as the Chinese i-emain among us, but it will accomplish com- paratively little, unless the church of the East throws its whole force into the work. The grand contest, which is to end with the conver- sion of China, must be carried on in China. The work in California I fear, only retards our final success in China. What tliey see of Christianity here, from their standpoint, must impress them very unfavorably. As a Christian minister, I take no part in this opposi- tion to the Chinese. The Christian Church believes, of necessity, in the brotherhood of man, and works for the salvation of all men indiscriminately, because they are men for whom Christ died. But this is a doctrine which the State cannot, at present, administer or establish. The State is organized for the protection and develop- ment of local institutions, ideas, and interests, and cannot permit the presence of systems that threaten its existence. The church is organized to establish the Kingdom of Christ throughout the world, and means to do it. The Chinese question is, therefore, mainly a question for statesmen, and must be determined from their stand- point.
Q.— Do you think that the missionary work in California has been well and iaithfully done, and that it has borne as good fruits as pos- sible, under the circumstances?
41
A. — Undoubtedly.
Q. — Do you know anything about the difference between the Japanese and the Chinese?
A. — I have had more intimate associations with the .Tai);nu"sc tliau with the Chinese, and there is certainly a very wide diUcrciicc between the two nations.
Q.— Do the Chinese have any appreciation of a republican fi)rm (jf government?
A.— I have never found one that had the faintest conception of what it was. Q. — How are the Japanese?
A. — They seem to have an instinctive knowledge of our institu- tions. I have read essays by even young Japanese girls, and they seem to have an instinctive insight into things as tlie'v are. As lUr as I have seen the Japanese, they have come to tbe conchision that the secret of all our greatness is in the Christian reli.^ion. I talked with one of the most distinguished Japanese gentlemen tliat ever came to this country, and he told me that while they might carry over a great many of our fine arts and fine things, still they could not retain them unless they took our Christianity to sustain them. In dress and appearance, Japanese coming here try to imitate Ameri- cans. They stop at hotels, etc., and live like Americans. I am utterly amazed at the difference between the Japanese and the Chinese. I am convinced that through Japan we are to work the conversion of China.
Q. — What do you think of Senator Sargent's proposition to restrict immigration to ten on a ship?
A. — It would be certainly a very desirable thing, if it can bo done. If further immigration were stopped, I think that the churclu s. by a concerted action, could reach these Chinese here, and, perhaiis, make our efforts in China of more avail. The nomadic habits of those here are a great drawback. There is scarcely a Chinaman here that has not been in from ten to twenty places on the coast, and it is very difficult to Christianize sach reamers.
Mr. Andrew Aitken, an old and much esteemed resident of Sacra- mento, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 157 to 160):
Q. — What knowledge have you as to the efforts made on this coast by the Christian peoj^le to convert and bring to Christianity the Chinese people?
A. — My knowledge, as far as I have assisted and observ?d the labors of others, is that it is beneficial.
Q. — What is beneficial — what has been done?
A.— Teaching them to read the English language, studying scrip- ture, and quite a number have been converted to Christiaiiit>-. There have been nine of them made members of the Presbyterian ( hurch: of that number, one has died.
Q. — For what length of time have you observed thi -i ih.!' i ; - '
A. — -I have been giving my personal attention f'-r ;; ■ : c years — two years and a half or three years. I havi ^ — - , n- tendent of the Chinese School in the Presbyterian ( hnn-h. That school is on the corner of Sixth and L streets, and is under the man- agement of the Presbyterian Session. 6
42
Q. — How long is it since it was established ? A. — About two j^ears and a half or three years. Q. — How many Chinamen are attending it?
A. — On an average, about sixty last year; sometimes more and sometimes less; mostly adults.
Q. — Eight or nine Chinamen have been converted?
A. — Nine joined our church, one died, and eight are now mem- bers. The first named joined three years ago, and the balance within a year and a half. Generally, the same persons attend school regu- larly. There is a class that we call the " Bible class," composed of some six or seven, that are always there.
Q. — During the time that you have known of these missionary efforts have the members of the chiirch been zealous, and has every- thing been done that can be done to bring about a conversion of the Chinese?
A. — Yes, sir. In the evening school they are taught to read, and in learning they are very quick and accurate.
Q. — Do you teach them concerning any of the principles of the government?
A.— No.
Q. — Do they seem to know anything of them ?
A. — We have never attempted to do anything in that direction ; we merely teach them to read.
Q,. — Do you know of anything that could have been done by your church or its members, within the bounds of reason, towards edu- cating and Christianizing the Chinese, that has not been done?
A. — I think a little more might have been done had we started years ago ; but since we started we have done everything that could be reasonably expected. I think our school is the largest school in the city.
Q. — Do you know anything about the condition of the Chinese in the City of San Francisco ? A. — Only by hearsay.
Q. — What effect do you think this Chinese immigration would have upon California should it be continued to the extent that it is now carried — three thousand five hundred or four thousand a month?
A. — I do not think it would be beneficial, especially the importa- tion of so many lewd women ; that is the greatest fault I see in the immigration of Chinese. I am not in favor of seeing a great influx of Chinese any more than any one else, but those that are here it is our duty to try and elevate and educate.
Q. — If one hundred and fifty thousand of these Chinese should settle in California it would be necessary that they should be raised from their present condition?
A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — What effect do you think their presence in this city has upon the morals of the community — do you think that it is good or bad, taking it as a whole?
A. — I think, as a whole, that it has not been good — that is, taking the worst class. The majority are rather inclined to corrupt the morals of others.
Q. — Taking the Chinese members of the Presbyterian Church,
Address to the People of the United States.
43
what has been their conduct since — do you see any decided chaiiuc in them ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — A very material one ?
A. — Yes, sir. They seem to have a great reverence for anything that is religious. They are very attentive to lessons and learn to have a regard for praying. They seem to have more respect for prayer than even our own people.
Q. — How is it regarding their business relations — are they honest?
A. — I see no reason to doubt that.
Q. — Do you see anj^ difference between them and the T'liincsc licre?
A. — Yes, a marked difference. They do not associair with iIk ih, but keep by themselves. Those who are Christians a-^uriaii w ith themselves or with white people.
Q. — Do you know what their opinion is about the effect of this large immigration into the country?
A.— I do not.
Q. — Do you find in this city, among the intelligent people, any desire to resort to force or violence against the Chinese here ? A.— No, sir.
Q. — And the general impression is the impression you have ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — You express the general feeling, when you say that the.y are here and must be protected, and that it would be a disgrace to our country to have any attacks made upon them?
A. — Yes, sir. That would show them that we are no better than they are.
Q. — Are there other mission schools in this city ? A. — The Methodist Church has one, and the Congregational folks have one.
Q. — Do you know how many students are attending them ? A.— No, sir.
Q. — Do you know how many church members there are ?
A. — -I think one or two belong to the Congregational, and one or two to the Methodists.
Q. — How is your school and mission sustained ?
A. — The night school is sustained by the Board of Presbyterian Missionaries. Mr. Loomis sends me money every month to pay the rent and the teacher.
Q. — Can you fix about the annual expense ?
A. — One hundred and thirty dollars for rent; three hundred dol- lars for teacher ; porter, three hundred dollars ; total, seven hundred and thirty dollars, besides light and fuel. About one thousand dol- lars a year is the cost of keeping up that school.
Q. — In that, of course, you do not include the labors of yourself?
A. — There is no one paid except the teacher. All the other labor is voluntarily given. The gas is furnished by the church.
Q. — Are there any Chinese women attending that school ?
A. — No, sir. There is one little half-Chinese girl that comes to our regular Sabbath School.
— Is she living with a white family ?
■A. — Yes, sir; but you could not tell but what she was pure white.
Q. — You do not find any prejudice among the members of your church to their education and advancement, do you?
44
Address to the People of the United States.
A. — There is nothing said ; but since this Chinese question came up some have absented themselves from school. Young men come in and listen to the singing, and I sometimes ask them if they will teach, but i\\Qy refuse, saying they don't like Chinamen, or make some such remark as that.
Q. — Do they adopt the style of dress of white people ?
A. — No. 1 do not think that has anytliing to do with it. Every nation has its customs in regard to dress, etc.
Q. — What is the employment of these persons that belong to your church?
A. — Some are engaged in washing, and some are servants. Q. — Do you know how they are received by the Chinese who are not Christians?
A. — They are persecuted a good deal. I will state that a boy living with Judge Curtis, and who died a year ago, was as good a Christian as ever lived in the world. He was the first Chinese member of our church.
Q.— Do you meet with opposition from the mass of the Chinese ?
A. — Yes, sir. During last year, last winter, they tried to kick up a fuss at the night school, on Fourth Street, and I had to get a force of policemen to protect the school. They came there, and made noises, and tried to prevent boys from coming in. Since I got the police there has been no disturbance.
Q. — These converts are not very well treated by the Chinese?
A.— No. They are persecuted.
Q. — Your converts do not associate with the mass of the Chinamen?
A. — They do not make them their associates as they did formerly. They have to associate with them more or less, the same as we Chris- tians associate with our kind.
Q. — From the manner in which they are received they would not naturally associate with them?
A.— No.
Q. — Do they express anj^ intention of returning to China ?
A. — Some of them do. We had a colporteur here who returned to China with the determination to preach in his own country. Since he went away there is another young man who is filling his place and preaching in the Chinese language about five minutes every Sunday night to those who cannot speak English. Quon Loy was the teacher, and he had great influence among the Chinese. He was among them continually, was an industrious man, and a good Chris- tian.
Q. — Is not one of the difficulties in the way of the conversion of Chinese their migratory habits — that is, moving about from place to place ?
A. — That would prevent more from uniting. One intended to join our church last spring, but he wished to go to San Francisco and unite with some of his acquaintances. I think it is a greater task for Chinamen to become Christians than it is for our own people, because they undergo more persecution and opposition amongst their own people; so it is a sacrifice they have to make. I have found these Chinese converts are very attentive to their duties, are present at communion service, and have as much regard for the solemnity of the occasion as any of us.
Address to the People of the United States.
45
Q. — Have they any idea of the principles under whicli this country is governed ? A. — I do not know.
Q. — Don't you think it would be a good thing to educate lliciii in that, in your mission schools?
A.— Yes, it would be. They seem to be very much taken up w ith reading, and, when they once learn, they read the papers. 'I'liis Quon Loy writes as pretty a hand as you or I, and write< a< pivU\- a letter as you would want to read. This boy, that li\-eil w ith .ludue Curtis, wrote a beautiful hand.
Q. — Senator Sargent has introduced a bill into the I'nited Slates Senate, providing that hereafter not more than ten Chinaiueu shall be brought to this State on anyone ship. What is your idea as to the passage of such a bill?
A. — I think it would be beneficial to restrict the immigration in that way. I believe in that fully.
Lem Schaum, a Chinese convert to Christianity, and a most remarkable man, testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 138 and 139):
Q. — Do you know whether the Chinese Government is in favor of its people coming here or not ?
A. — It is not in favor of it, but the government can't help itself. The policy of the Chinese Government has been exclusive. It desires to keep its people at home. This immigration is mostly from the Province of Canton.
Q.— Suppose the mass of that immigration was stoi>])ed, do you think it would have any influence on our commercial relations with other parts of China ?_
A. — No. I think this immigration must stop. I say it is not unly ruining Americans, but it ruins the Chinese. Their wa.ues, we noiiee, come down every day. A short time ago Chinamen got (liir(> -.-ix dollars a month working on the railroad. What do tiiey get imw-? Twenty-six dollars per month — one dollar a day. This inmiigratiou must be stopped in some way.
Q. — Do you think, if proper representations were made to the Chi- nese Government by intelligent Chinamen, as to the state of aft'airs here, they would willingly aid in stopping it — stopping this immi- gration of the lower classes here?
A. — The government, I am afraid, would not he able \n do it. It has eighteen provinces, and a revolution in cvi^ry proviuee alino-t.
Q. — It is claimed that if we were to attempt to sto}) it ourselves the Chinese Government would be offended ?
A. — No, they would not be offended ; but they would be very .clad to do that, the same as I am. The Chinese Government would he only too glad to prevent their people coming to this country.
Q. — What is the general opinion of Christian Chinamen with whom you associate in this State as to the policy or impolicy of hav- ing this Chinese immigration continue without any limits?
A. — We think that this immigration must be stopped. It must be stopped in some way, and then we can look after those Christians educated in this country. We want to stretch forth our hand as far as we can so as to instruct them about a better world than this. That is our object, and a good many of them are going back to preach at
46
Address to the People of the United States.
home. Looking at this thing from a Christian standpoint, I think that Christianity is not advanced by this immigration, and I would give anything in the world to have it stopped.
Q. — In the Eastern States, when we proposed to check this immi- gration, or to limit it to the better class of Chinese, we were met with this proposition : that_ Chinese immigration to this country would have the result of Christianizing China. I understand you to say that the immigration, such as is coming here now, don't tend to the advancement of Christianity?
A. — It does not.
Q. — So it would be better, then, from your standpoint as a China- man, to stop it, for by stopping it you would make more Christians? A. — Yes, sir.
We are of the opinion that the evidence quoted fairly represents the situation from a humanitarian standpoint. That it shows how great the effort has been to civilize and convert these people — how wholly that effort has failed. We find that even here the Chinaman, true to his instinct, and in violation of our laws, resorts to force to resist the influences that true men and good women in their devo- tion would throw around him.
A close examination of all the facts convinces us that wide-spread, dangerous, and corrupting outbreaks of immoral conduct are pre- vented only by fear of the hot indignation of our people, and their consequent forcible exile from this country. Once convinced that they are not to be molested, restrained, or regulated, and they will give manifestations of immorality which will shock and confound the public mind.
We cannot bring our public schools to bear upon this population, for the reason that the State does not contemplate the education of adults, and could not bear the expense even if we could reach them in that way.
Are the people of the United States, now struggling with as great a burden of taxation as they can Avell bear, prepared to adopt the sug- gestion of the Rev. Dr. Rice, and attempt the education of the male adults that China may throw upon this coast? If not, we must exclude them, or imperil society itself. Upon this point all agree.
THE INFLUENCE OF CHINESE UPON FREE LABOR.
We now call attention to an aspect of the subject of such huge proportions, and such practical and pressing importance, that we almost dread to enter upon its consideration, naijiely, the eflect of Chinese labor upon our industrial classes. We admit that the Chinese were, in the earlier history of the State, when white labor was not attainable, very useful in the development of our peculiar industries ; that they were of great service in railroad building, in mining, gardening, general agriculture, and as domestic servants.
We admit that the Chinese are exceedingly expert in all kinds of labor and manufacturing; that they are easily and inexpensively handled in large numbers.
We recognize the right of all men to better their condition when they can, and deeply sympathize with the overcrowded population of China.
Address to the People of the United Strifes.
47
But our own people are the original settlers of ( 'nliroi nia, their children, and recent immigrants from the East uinl iMiri.pc 'V\\v\ cannot compete with Chinese labor, and are now suH'crin^ 1m ( -iii-c (if this inability. This inability does not arise out of any (li'liricncy of skill or will, but out of a mode of life hitherto considered es.sential to our American civilization.
Our people have families, a condition considered of vast import- ance to our civilization, while the Chinese have not, or if tliey have families they need but little to support them in their native lan^l.
Our laborers cannot be induced to live like vermin, as tlie ( 'liinese, and these habits of individual and family life have ever l)een ( luour- aged by our statesmen as essential to good morals.
Our laborers require meat and bread, which have been considered by us as necessary to that mental and bodily strenutli wliidi is thought to be important in the citizens of a Republic which depends upon the strength of its people, while the Chinese reiiuin^ only rice, dried fish, tea, and a few simple vegetables. The cost of sustenance to the whites is four-fold greater than that of the CTiinese. and the wages of the whites must of necessity be greater than the wayes required by the Chinese. _ The Chinese are, tTierefore, aldr ti. nnder- bid the whites in every kind of labor. They can be hired in masses ; they can be managed and controlled like unthinking slaves. l)Ut our laborer has an individual life, cannot be controlled as a slave by brutal masters, and this individuality has been required of him by the genius of our institutions, and upon these elements of character the State depends for defense and growth.
To compete with the Chinese, our laborer must be entirely changed in character, in. habits of life, in everything that the Republic has hitherto required him to be.
As a matter of fact, the Chinese have monopolized the laundry business, cigar making, the manufacture of slippers, the manipula- tion of sewing machines, domestic servitude, harvesting, fruit gath- ering, railroad building, placer mining, fishing, the manufacture of silk and wool, and many other occupations.
As a natural consequence the white laborer is out of employment, and misery and want are fast taking the places of comfort and plenty.
Now, to consider and weigh the benefits returned to us by tlie Clii- nese for these privileges and for these wrongs to oar laboring classes. They buy little or nothing from our own peoi)le, but import hotli their food and clothing from China; they send their wages home; they have not introduced a single industry peculiar to their own country; they contribute nothing to the support of our instimtiniis ; can never be relied upon as defenders of the State : they have no intention of becoming citizens; they acquire no homes, and aie a constant tax upon the public treasury.
At this point we refer briefly to the testimony given upon these questions, in order that you may be satisfied we have not overstated the difficulties. Mr. Shaw (Evidence, pp. 18 and 19,) testifies :
Q. — How is the condition of the laboring men in China to be com- pared with the condition of those who are here ?
A. — It is undoubtedly going from misery to comfort. The amount of destitution in China is very serious. Pekin, in my opinion, is one
48
Addj^ess to the People of the United States.
of the filthiest cities to be found. There is what is called a Chinese City of Pekin and a Tartar city. The Chinese city is filthy to a degree almost beyond belief. I have seen tricks perpetrated in the streets of Pekin proper that would only be tolerated in brutes in a civilized country. When I was there I wondered how ladies could go into the streets at all, and I was told that they hardly ever did ; that they never attempted to walk in the streets, but when compelled to go out used the conveyances of that country. When they wanted exercise they were carried to the walls of the city, where they could walk without seeing sights that would be disgusting. Tho.se streets are filthy beyond what should ever be seen among human beings. The great mass of the people, it seemed to me, were ignorant, and not in a position to be removed from ignorance. They have, it is true, a system of education, but that system of education is confined to certain books written four thousand years ago. They think there is no knowledge anywhere that is not found in those books, and as a consequence, their learning, from the highest to the lowest, must be very limited, according to our ideas.
Rev. Mr. Loomis testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 54 and 55) :
Q. — What wages are received in China ?
A. — I think from three to five dollars a month.
Q. — And board themselves?
A. — Well, I don't know about that. I think servants in Hong- kong, Canton, and Macao receive three dollars or four dollars a month, where they are employed in families. Then they board with the families, I think. On the farms they board themselves.
Q. — How much will it take to support the family of a laboring man in China, where he has a wife and two or three children ?
A. — Three or four dollars a month. Some live on less than that. Everything is very cheap. A man who acquires three hundred dol- lars or four hundred dollars is rich — esteemed comfortably well off". There are large land holders and heavy merchants there who are very wealthy.
Mr. Altemeyer testifies, (Evidence, p. 51) :
Q. — Is the employment of Chinese labor here detrimental to the employment of white labor?
A. — Yes, sir; there is no question but that it keeps white men from coming here, while those who are here cannot get work.
Q.^ — Is it not true that the lighter branches of trade and manufac- tures, which in other places are filled by boys, are here filled by the Chinese?
A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — This deprives both boys and girls of occupations ?
A. — Yes, sir.
Q.— Are they skillful ?
A. — They are quick at imitation. They learn soon by looking on. Then they go oh: in business for themselves. For business men to employ Chinese, is simply putting nails in their coffins. Every Chinaman employed will be a competitor. The result must be the driving from the country of white business men and white laborers.
Address to the People of the United States. 49
White laborers could not live as they do, and the result would be a ruinous competition for the whites. The Chinese merchant can live as much cheaper than the white merchant as can the Chinese laborer live cheaper than the white laborer. When such a thing gets full headway the whites will be displaced. I have made this thing a very careful study, and my experience teaches me that these views are correct.
Mr. Duffey testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 125 and 126):
Q.— Why can they (the Chinese) afford to do work cheaper than white men?
A. — They can work cheaper than the white man because they have no families to support, and therefore live much cheaper. Their living does not cost them over fifteen cents per day. Take a labor- ing man here who has a wife and two children dependent upon him, and his expenses at the very least are two dollars and fifty cents a day, and he must live very economically to make that amount do. Where a laboring man has no family, his necessary expenses will be from one dollar and seventy-five cents to two dollars a day. He can board for twenty dollars a month, and his washing, clothing, etc., will make up the balance. Most of the Chinese here wear clothes of Chinese manufacture, consume goods imported from China, and all their dealings are against the American interests. Where they do not board themselves, they can be accommodated — boarded and lodged — at houses in Chinatown for one dollar and fifty cents a week, and less.
Mat. Karcher, ex-Chief of Police for Sacramento, testifies, (Evi- dence, p. 131):
Q. — In San Francisco, at an early day, and in Sacramento, there were few boys fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen years of age in the country ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — And the places occupied by boys in other countries were filled by the Chinese ? A. — Yes, sir.
Q. — So that the result was, that when boys came along in the nat- ural growth of the country there was no work for them to do ? A. — That is correct.
Q. — We have an element in San Francisco, and a small element here, known as hoodlums. Might not the growth of that element be justly attributed to the presence of this people in our midst?
A. — I think nine-tenths of it may. In other countries boys find employment in this light work, but here it is done by the Chinese.
Mr. Oliver Jackson testifies as follows, (Evidence, p. 144) :
Q. — How much a day can Chinese laborers of the lower classes sup- port themselves upon ?
A. — They can live on ten cents a day. White men cannot board themselves for less than fifty cents a day. The Chinese evade all the tax they can. A poll tax receipt is passed around from one to the 7
50
Address to the People of the United States.
other, and they swear themselves clear of paying whenever they can.
Q. — Do they import much of their food and clothing from China?
A. — Yes, sir. They spend very little money with Americans. They come here, stay until they get some money together, and then go home again. While they are here, they are sending money home all the time,
Q. — From what you have seen, do you think the presence of the Chinese here tends to the advancement of Christian civilization ?
A. — It has the reverse effect. It is also degrading to white labor ; instead of learning good, they are learning vice. They are becom- ing educated only in thievery, and perjury, and everything bad.
Mr. Karcher testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 132 and 133) :
The Chinese live together, fifteen or twenty in a small room, and do their cooking there and sleep there. This enables them to live upon probably ten cents a day, or seventy cents a week, while a white laborer would be under an expense, at the very least, of twelve dollars a week. The Chinese use Chinese clothing, live upon Chi- nese rice, and deal with Chinese merchants. The Chinese washer- man has taken the place of the white washerwoman. He has usurped the place of the white girl in families. He has driven white laborers from the factories, the fields, and the ordinary w^ork of labor- ers. He has invaded a large portion of our manufacturing institu- tions, displacing white labor, male and female. He has been ena- bled to do this from the fact that he works for less than is necessary to support the most economical of white laborers. It has been stated in Eastern papers that the Chinese on this coast are abused, and that they are not protected by the laws. That is not so. It is because the laws have been well enforced in California that the people have stood this thing so long as they have. If we should send a popula- tion of this kind to any large city in the United States, and the work- ingmen should understand the character of the Chinese as we under- stand it, they would rise up and prevent their settling among them.
Mr. James Galloway testifies as follows, (Evidence, pp. 155 and 156) :
Their (the Chinese) operations in the mines have Often been very profitable. These mines are nearly all worked by companies. Com- panies bring up scores of them and hire them out, or buy or locate claims, and set them to work on them. The company comes down in the evening and takes possession of the gold. These companies supply the rice and other provisions, tools, etc., for these fellows who work in the mines. When a person hires one or more of these Chinamen, it is usual, if not universal, to settle with the head man of the company ; and if you turn oflf one, he will bring you another. They appear to control all their movements, and take their earnings as though they were their property. Companies often locate mines on their own account, but generally get some person to locate the ground, and then buy from them, and thus they think they get a better title. They work much poor ground, but have also worked many hundred of rich claims, and have taken out a large amount of gold. For several seasons I resided on the banks of the Yuba, and
Address to the People of the United States.
51
used to see their clean-up, and know that for years several companies made as high as from four dollars to twelve dollars per hand to the day. This money (so far as my opportunities enabled me to judge, and my opportunities were of the best,) nearly all left the mines in possession or ownership of Chinamen. They have no property, or but little, in mining camps or in the mines, that is worthy of the Assessor's or Tax-gatherer's notice. They get the gold and go scot free, as a general rule. Nearly all the ground they have worked could now be profitably worked by white labor — some of it would pay richly. They were not safe neighbors where they had large camps and the whites were few. They are ingenious and imitative, and can work wet diggings as well, if not better, than white men. In our mining towns they now occupy most of the domestic positions that women and girls did before their immigration to the mines. Many poor persons — widows, in some cases, with children — have been displaced by these Chinese laborers ; especially is this the case in the laundry business and cooking. They do carry away our gold, and without any power of our getting any revenue from them. From my observation, I would say their presence in the mines is as inju- rious to our citizens living in them as in the cities, with this addi- tion, that they carry away more wealth, and give less return, than in the latter places. Their morals are as bad. Their opportunities of committing outrages u]Don persons, and violating rights of property, are greater, while their punishment is less certain — being more diffi- cult.
It appeared in proof that no Chinaman, unless he is a Christian, can leave this State without a permit from one of the six companies. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company will not sell them tickets with- out this permit, (Evidence, p. 26).
" In considering the Chinese question, it is necessary to remember that however true economic axioms are, their applicability depends upon the character of the convictions held by those who are to exer- cise final judgment regarding them. Thus, it may be perfectly true, in an economic point of view, that capital ought to be free to employ the cheapest labor it can procure. It may also be perfectly true that the employment of cheap labor stimulates manufactures and quickens the creation of capital. But it does not at all necessarily follow that the effects of an unlimited supply of cheap labor are beneficial to the majority, and in a country where the majority rule it must be ultimately impossible to gain consent to economic systems which cannot be shown to produce this general satisfactory result. Nor are the staple arguments of the political economists proof against the single fact that under a government by universal suffrage it is impos- sible to persuade the masses into accepting a ruinous competition with cheap labor. But in truth there are two distinct theories of political economy at present in conflict, and it is easy to see that their radical differences are due to the differences of political system. The European theory may be said to leave the personal equation out of consideration altogether. It assumes at the outset that the pro- duction of capital is the alpha and omega of industry and commerce, and it takes for granted that wealth means success. Cheap labor, according to this theory, is always acceptable, and competition sliould be left free to regulate wages. If the workingman cannot earn more
52
Address to the People of the United States.
than bread and water because of the fierceness of competition, he must accept his meager fare cheerfully, and console himself with the reflection that the laws of supply and demand have settled his lot for him, and that complaint is useless. In countries where the voice of labor is powerless, and where the usage of centuries has accus- tomed men to this life-long struggle for the bare necessaries of life, this theory is endured. But the United States represent a different form of government; a form of government which begins by recog- nizing popular rights, and goes on recognizing them to the end. Here the people are the government, and, as in all nations, the majority must work for a. subsistence, the question whether the majority shall work for starvation wages, or shall insist upon reason- able remuneration, can only be answered in one way. And thus, out of this more popular form of government, has arisen what may be called the new political economy. This is the theory that takes largest account of the personal equation, instead of ignoring it; which lays down the proposition that the greatest happiness to the greatest number is the true end and aim of all legislation and gov- ernment, and which holds that great aggregate wealth is a far inferior desideratum to general moderate prosperity. It is from this especially American standpoint that the Chinese question must be discussed, for assuredly it will at last be settled in accordance with these views. Let it be shown that without the Chinaman our local industries would be paralyzed; that our manufacturers could not compete with Eastern rivals; that a great many undertakings involving much capital would fail — all this may be granted, and yet all this is insig- nificant when the broader aspect of the question comes to be consid- ered. For after all, what is it that we are doing here upon the Pacific Coast?
" Are we engaged in building up a civilized empire, founded upon and permeated with the myriad influences of Caucasian culture ; or are we merely planted here for the purpose of fighting greedily, each for his own hand, and of spoiling a country for whose future we have no care? If the latter, then indeed we should welcome Chinese labor, and should encourage its advent until it had driven white labor out of the field. But if we have higher duties — if we owe obli- gations to our race, to our civilization, to our kindred blood, to all that proclaims our common origin and testifies to the harmony and consistence of our aims — then assuredly we must decide that the Chinaman is a factor hostile to the prosperity, the progress, and the civilization of the American people. And be it observed, that how- ever broad our philosophy, it must necessarily be limited by race, nationality, and kindred civilization. We owe allegiance to those whose blood runs in our veins; to those who boast a community of ancestry, of literature, of progress in all its forms and phases. Europe, not Asia, appeals to us, and we should be recreant to those instincts which are often the safest guides if we imperiled the future of our own race by subjecting them to a competition for which they ar(^ unfitted, and the only effect of which could be to brutalize and ii(Ma(c tliem. There are some very 'advanced' thinkers who iiiaiiitaiii that competition is the truest test of superiority, and who ('WW ui) s(j lar as to assert that if American labor cannot compete witli ( 'hineso labor the fact proves its essential inferiority, and indi- cates the Chinese as the coming race. Now, perhaps, if we were on
Address to the People of the United States. 53
the lookout for a civilization, and were prepared to judge dispas- sionately between all comers, we might be persuaded by such argu- ments, and might regard with indifference, or even approval, the prospect of the Mongolianization of this_ whole country. But as the case stands we already possess a civilization, and it is iimerican, and not Chinese. Imperfect as it may be, and full of defects, it is at least our own, and it represents the labors, the thoughts,_tlie aspirations, the struggles of men of our own race and blood. To it we must there- fore cling, and whatever possibilities of development we have must be grafted upon it. For the Chinaman we liave no hard feelings, and no senseless hatred. We willingly admit that he offers a tre- mendous temptation to capitalists, and to all others who need work done at low rates. But when all is said that can be said in his favor we still fall back upon the consideration that it is American and not Chinese civilization that we are trying to build up, and that since Chinese labor means American destitution we must rid our- selves of it. To such as think differently we would further say : Do you believe that the intelligent millions of workingmen who possess votes in these United States can be persuaded into abandoning what is practically the defense of their means of livelihood ? The Chinese question has not as yet penetrated throughout the country, but it will, and then the verdict will be given. At bottom it is the poison of slavery that rankles in this Chinese question, and the people must realize that truth also. It is not a mere question of compara- tive wages, but of civilization and progress."
A serious objection to slavery as it existed in the Southern States was that it tended to degrade white labor. The very same objection exists against Chinese labor in this State. The recent troubles in San Francisco are attributed to a class commonly known as "hood- lums"— young men who have grown up in idleness, without ocpupa- tion of any kind, and who, in various ways, prey upon society. This class is peculiar to San Francisco. Manj'- of our best thinkers argue that it owes its existence to the presence of a large Chinese popu- lution. For several years after the settlement of this State by Americans, the population was an adult population. There were no boys. The Chinese naturally fell into the positions occupied by and did the work that in other countries was assigned to boys. As boys grev/ up they found these places filled by Chinese, and very naturally looked upon the labor they performed as servile and degrading. Their pride — whether true or false is immaterial — kept them from entering the lists by the side of an abhorred race. If this view of the subject is correct, a fearful responsibility rests at the door of the advocates of Chinese labor. The Chinese are employed as agricul- tural laborers. The employment in most cases is not of individuals, but is of a drove, held in some sort of dependence by a head man or agent of the Chinese companies. The workmen live in sheds or in straw stacks, do their own cooking, have no homes, and are without interest in their work or the country. Tlie white laborer who would compete with them must not only pursue the same kind of a life, but must like them abdicate his individuality. The consequences would be lamentable even if the white laborer should succeed by .such means in driving the Asiatic from the field. We would, in that event, have a laboring class without homes, without families, and without any of the restraining influences of society.
54 Address to the People of the United States.
The slave owner at the South had an interest in his laborers, and even if the voice of humanity was silenced, yet that interest made him care for them.' He gave them houses to live in, took care of them in sickness, and supported them when old age rendered them incapable. The owner of Chinese laborers in this State has no such interest. His interest is co-extensive with and limited by the ability of his slave to earn money. In sickness he turns him over to the charity of the public. When disabled by age, he leaves him to fate. It takes no prophet to foretell that if white labor is brought . down to the level of Asiatic labor the white laborer will meet like treatment.
Again, it can be truly said that slavery and its interests produced at the South a large body of intelligent and able statesmen, who, in the conflict between capital and labor, threw into the scale the weight of their power in behalf of labor. Their constituents were the proprietors of labor. The representative naturally consulted the interest of his constituents, and was invariably found the power- ful advocate of industrial interests. This was a favorable side of slavery as it existed in the South, and to this extent, at least, South- ern slavery exercised a beneficial influence wholly lacking in Chinese.
The slaves of the South were, as a race, kind and faithful. The Chinese, as a race, are cruel and treacherous. In this — by contrast — all the advantage was with Southern slavery.
On the whole, it is our judgment that unrestricted Chinese immi- gration tends more strongly to the degradation of labor, and to the subversion of our institutions, than did slavery at the South. It has all of the disadvantages of African slavery, and none of its compen- sations.
LOSS TO THE COUNTRY FBOM THIS IMMIGRATION.
The effect of this immigration is to prevent that of a more desirable class. There, again, in the mere matter of dollars and cents, the country at large is loser. These people bring no money with them, while it is assumed, on the most credible evidence, that one hundred dollars at least is the average amount in possession of each European immigrant. A well known social economist estimates the capital value of every laborer that comes from Europe and settles in this country at fifteen hundred dollars. This value rests upon the fact that such laborer makes this country his home, creates values, and contributes to the support of the nation. The Chinese laborer, on the contrary, makes a draft upon the wealth of the na,tion ; takes from instead of adding to its substance. Not less than one hundred and eighty million dollars in gold have been abstracted from this State alone by Chinese laborers, while they have contributed nothing to the State or national wealth.
Given in place of one hundred and twenty-five thousand Chinese laborers the same number of male European immigrants, and the result may be stated in figures, as follows :
Amount of money brought into the country, $100 each__ |12,500,000 Capital value of 125,000 European male laborers, at |1,500
each 187,500,000
Add gold abstracted by Chinese laborers 180,000,000
$380,000,000
Address to the People of the United States.
55
Thus, it is beyond question that, from a purely financial point of view, the United States is loser nearly four hundred millions of dol- lars by Chinese immigration — a sum which, if distributed through- out the country, now would go far toward alleviating present want and misery.
If it was true that no real objection existed to the presence of a large Chinese population, if it was true that the wrong and injury to the whites existed only in the imagination of the people of this country, even then we would insist that this immigration be restricted. This is a Republic, dependent for its existence, not upon force, but upon the will and consent of the people, upon their satisfaction with the government. When that satisfaction ceases, will and consent will be withdrawn. _ Therefore, it behooves the_ representatives of the people, charged, in part, with the administration of that govern- ment, to wisely consider not only real, but fancied causes of dissatis- faction. If it be found that the presence of the Chinese element is a constant source of irritation and annoyance to our people, that it is not here to assimilate and become part of the body politic, that no good, or but little, results from its presence, it does seem that the mere dissatisfaction of the people with its presence should be cause for grave concern on the part of the government.
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY RESTRICTION.
But it is said that action on our part, tending to restrict Chinese immigration, would redound to the injury of commercial relations with that empire. There is not the slightest foundation, in fact, for any such notion. The Government of China is opposed to the immi- gration. All of the witnesses agree upon this point.
The people of the Eastern States of the Union may not at present directly suffer from competition with these people, but they cannot but be sensible that State lines constitute no barrier to the move- ment of the Chinese — that as soon as the Pacific States are filled with this population it will overflow upon them. The Chinese Empire could spare a population far in excess of the population of the United States, and not feel the loss. Unless this influx of Chinese is pre- vented all the horrors of the immigration will in a few years be brought home to the people of the Eastern States. While the States east of the Mississippi do not directly feel the effects of Chinese immigration, they are indirectly affected by it. The eastern manu- facturer, for instance, of coarse boots and shoes, is driven out of the California market. He finds it stocked with the products of Chinese labor. The profits that would accrue to the manufacturer in the east, and his employes, have been diverted, and flow in a steady stream to China.
THE UNARMED INVASION.
Already, to the minds of many, this immigration begins to assume the nature and proportions of a dangerous unarmed invasion of our soil. Twenty years of increasing Chinese immigration will occupy the entire Pacific Coast to the exclusion of the white population. Many of our people are confident that the whole coast is yet to become a mere colony of China. All the old empires have been conquered by armed invasions, but North and South America, and
56 Address to the People of the United States.
the Continent of Australia, have been conquered and wrested from their native inhabitants by peaceable, unarmed invasions. Nor is this fear entirely groundless as to the Pacific Coast, for it is in keep- ing with the principles which govern the changes of modern dynas- ties, and the advance guard is already upon our shores. The immi- gration which is needed to offset and balance that from China is retarded by the condition of the labor question on this coast, and we have reason to expect that within ten years the Chinese will equal in number the whites. In view of these facts, thousands of our people are beginning to feel a settled exasperation — a profound sense of dissatisfaction with the situation. Hitherto this feeling has been restrained, and the Chinese have had the full protection of our laws. It may be true that, at rare intervals, acts of violence have been committed toward them; but it is also true that punishment has swiftly followed. Our city criminal Courts invariably inflict a severer punishment for offenses committed upon Chinese than for like offenses committed against whites. The people of this State have been more than patient— Ave are satisfied that the condition of affairs, as they exist in San Francisco, would not be tolerated with- out a resort to violence in any eastern city. It is the part of wisdom to anticipate the day when patience may cease, and by wise legisla- tion avert its evils. Impending difficulties of this character should not, in this advanced age, be left to the chance arbitrament of force. These are questions which ought to be solved by the statesman and philanthropist, and not by the soldier.
Adopted at a meeting of the Committee held in the City of San Francisco, August thirteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven.
CREED RAYMOND, Chairman.
Attest : Frank Shay, Secretary.
MEMORIAL.
8
MEMORIAL
OF THE SENATE OF CALIFORNIA TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES.
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America.
Your memorialists respectfully represent unto your honorable bodies as follows ; . .
That on the third day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, in the Senate of the State of California, Creed Haymond, Senator from the Eighteenth Senatorial District, offered the following resolu- tions, which were unanimously adopted :
Be it resolved by the Senate of tJie State of California, That a committee of five Senators be appointed^ with power to sit at any time or place within the State, and the said committee shall make inquiry :
1. As to the number of Chinese in this State, and the efiect their presence has upon the social and political condition of the State.
2. As to the probable result of Chinese immigration upon the country, if such immigration be not discouraged.
3. As to the means of exclusion, if such committee should be of the opinion that the presence of the Chinese element in our midst is detrimental to the interests of the country.
4. As to such other matters as, in the judgment of the committee, have a bearing upon the question of Chinese immigration. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee * * * shall prepare a memorial to the Congress of the United States, which memorial must set out at length the facts in relation to the subject of this inquiry, and such conclusions as the committee may have arrived at as to the policy and means of excluding Chinese from the country. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee is authorized and directed to have printed, at the State Print- ing Office, a sufficient number of copies of such memorial, and of the testimony taken by said committee, to furnish copies thereof to the leading newspapers of the United States, five copies to each member of Congress, ten copies to the Governor of each State, and to deposit two thousand copies with the Secretary of State of California for general distribution. And be it further
Resolved, That such committee shall * * * furnish to the Governor of the State of Cali- fornia two copies of said memorial, properly engrossed, and the Governor, upon receipt thereof, be requested to transmit, through the proper channels, one of said copies to the Senate and the other to the House of Representatives of the United States. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee have full power to send for persons and papers, and to admin- ister oaths, and examine witnesses under oath, and that a majority of said committee shall constitute a quorum.
Resolved, That said committee report to the Senate, at its next session, the proceedings had hereunder.
Subsequently, on motion, the Senate increased the number of the committee to seven, and the following Senators were appointed on said committee: Senators Haymond, McCoppin, Pierson, Donovan, Rogers, Lewis, and Evans.
That under the authority of the resolutions we have inquired into
60
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
the subject of Chinese immigration into the United States, and par- ticularly into the State of California, and into the past, present, and probable future results of this immigration upon our people; and from the evidence adduced before us, whereof a report and arguixient is also herewith presented, we respectfully submit the following con- siderations :
The State of California has a population variously estimated at from seven hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand, of which one hundred and tw^enty-five thousand are Chinese. The additions to this class have been very rapid since the organization of the State, but have been caused almost entirely by immigration, and scarcely at all by natural increase. The evidence demonstrates beyond cavil that nearly the entire immigration consists of the lowest orders of the Chinese people, and mainly of those having no homes or occupa- tions on the land, but living in boats on the rivers, especially those in the vicinity of Canton.
This class of the people, according to the castes into which Chinese society is divided, are virtually pariahs — the dregs of the population. None of them are admitted iilto any of the privileges of the orders ranking above them. And while rudimentary education is encour- aged, and even enforced among the masses of the people, the fisher- men and those living on the waters and harbors of China are excluded by the rigid and hoary constitutions of caste from all par- ticipation in such advantages.
It would seem to be a necessary consequence, flowing from this class of immigration, that a large proportion of criminals should be found among it; and this deduction is abundantly sustained by the facts before us, for of five hundred and forty-five of the foreign crim- inals in our State Prison, one hundred and ninety-eight are Chinese — nearly two-fifths of the whole — while our jails and reformatories swarm with the lower grade of malefactors.
The startling fact also appears that the actual cost of keeping these one hundred and ninety-eight State prisoners alone exceeds by twelve thousand dollars per annum the entire amount of revenue collected by the State from all the property assessed to Chinese.
But the criminal element in the Chinese population is very much greater than the figures above given would indicate, for conviction for crime among this class is extremely difficult. Our ignorance of the Chinese language, the utter want of comprehension by them of the crime of perjury, their systematic bribery, and intimidation of witnesses, and other methods of baffling judicial action, all tend to weaken the authority of our laws and to paralyze the power of our Courts.
A graver difficulty still is developed in the existence among the Chinese population of secret tribunals unrecognized by our laws and in open defiance thereof, an imperium in itnperio that undertake and actually administer punishment, not infrequently of death. These tribunals exercise the power of levying taxes, commanding masses of men, intiiuidniiiiu- inloi-iirclcrs and witnesses, enforcing perjury, punishiii- llie ivIi'Mcloi'v, iviiiovin- wiliicssrs lieyoinl tlic reach of process, (■(.iili'ollni.t; lilicrl\- of ac-lioii, and i>reve)iliii,^ the return of Chinese to their humes in China. In fact, there exists amongst us tribunals and Jaws alien to our form of government, and which practically nullify and supersede both National and State authority.
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
61
The Chinese females who immigrate to this State are, almost with- out exception, of the vilest and most degraded class of abandoned women. The effect of this element in our midst upon the health and morals of our youth is exhibited in the testimony. Its disgusting details cannot, for obvious reasons, be enlarged upon in this memo- rial. These women exist here in a state of servitude, beside which African slavery was a beneficent captivity. The contracts upon which their bodies are held under this system are fully explained and set out in the evidence, and we submit more than sustain what might otherwise be regarded as an extravagant deduction.
The male element of this population, where not criininal, comes into a painful competition with the most needy and most deserving of our people — those who are engaged, or entitled to be engaged, in industrial pursuits in our midst. The common laborer, the farm hand, the shoemaker, the cigar maker, the domestic naale and fernale, and workmen of all descriptions, find their various occupations monopolized by Chinese labor, employed at a compensation upon which white labor cannot possibly exist. Amelioration of this hard- ship might be possible to a limited extent if the proceeds of this labor were invested in our State, distributed among our people and made to yield a revenue to the government for the protection afforded by it to this class of our population. But the reverse is the fact, for of six hundred millions of taxable property in this State, in the last fiscal year, but one million and a half was assessed to Chinese. Thus one-sixth of the entire population pays less than one four- hundredths part of the revenue required to support the State Gov- ernment.
And, in addition to this alarming fact, we find that of the one hundred and eighty millions, if not more, earned by them during their continuance here, the whole is abstracted from the State and exported to China, thus absolutely impoverishing instead of enrich- ing the country affording them an asylum. The sharp contrast between the results of that kind of labor and of white labor with its investment in homes, its accumulation of wealth, and additions to our revenue, must be obvious even to a partial mind. Fertile lands, that scarcely require tillage to produce a harvest, are lying idle, par- tially because the laborer that would purchase and improve them can earn nothing above a bare support wherewith to buy, while the Chinese, who can by their habits of life practically subsist on noth- ing and save money, export their savings instead of here accumu- lating property. What the one hundred and eighty millions of solid gold shipped from California to a foreign country would pro- duce, if retained here by white labor and invested in the soil, in the homes and firesides of our own race, requires no illustration or argu- ment. California, instead of being a State of cities, might be a State of prosperous farms; instead of being in a condition (considering her extraordinary natural advantages) of wonderful yet healthy progress, we find her so retarded in her growth as to amount almost to retrogression.
It is a trite saying, however, that competition in labor is healthful. True — but not between free and slave labor; and the Chinese in California are substantially in a condition of servitude. Ninety- nine one-hundredths of them are imported here by large com- panies under contracts to repay to the importers out of their labor
62
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
the cost of their transportation and large interest upon the outlay, and these contracts frequently hold their subjects for long periods. During the existence of these contracts the Chinese are, to all intents, serfs, and as such are let out to service at a miserable pittance to perform the labor that it ought to be the privilege of our own race to perform. Even were it possible for the white laborer to maintain existence upon the wages paid to the Chinese, his condition never- theless becomes that of an abject slave, for grinding poverty is abso- lute slavery. The vaunted "dignity of labor" becomes a biting sarcasm when the laborer becomes a serf.
Irrespective, however, of this slavery by contract, the Chinese who inundate our shores are, by the very constitution of their nature, by instinct, by the traditions of their order for thousands of years, serfs. They never rise above that condition in their native land, and by the inexorable decrees of cast, never can rise. Servile labor to them is their natural and inevitable lot. Hewers of wood and drawers of water they have been since they had a country, and servile laborers they will be to the end of time. Departure from that level with them is never upward; the only change, apparently, is from servi- tude to crime.
The pious anticipations that the influence of Christianity upon the Chinese would be salutary, have proved unsubstantial and vain. Among one hundred and twenty-five thousand of them, with a resi- dence here beneath the elevating influences of Christian precept and example, and with the zealous labors of earnest Christian teachers, and the liberal expenditure of ecclesiastical revenues, we have no evidence of a single genuine conversion to Christianity, or of a single instance of an assimilation with our manners, or habits of thought or life. There are a few, painfully few, professing Christians among them, but the evidence confirms us in asserting_ that with these the profession is dependent to a great extent upon its paying a profit to the professor. Those Christians who hailed with satisfaction the advent of the Chinese to our shores, with the expectation that they would thus be brought beneath the benign influences of Christianity, cannot fail to have discovered that for every one of them that has professed Christianity, a hundred of our own youth,_ blighted by the degrading contact of their presence, have been swept into destruction.
Neither is there any possibility that in the future education, religion, or the other influences of our civilization can effect any change in this condition of things. The Chinese in California are all adults. They are not men of families. The family relation does not exist here among them. Not one in a thousand is married ; and, in addition, their habits of opium eating are practically destructive of the power of procreation. So that whatever improvement might otherwise be anticipated from instilling into the comparatively unformed and respective minds of a young and rising generation the educational and religious maxims that control our own race is thus efl^ectually precluded.
Above and beyond these considerations, however, we believe, and the researches of those wdio have most attentively studied the Chinese character confirm us in the consideration, that the Chinese are incapable of adaptation to our institutions. The national intellect of China has become decrepit from sheer age. It has long since passed its prime and is waning into senility. The iron manacles of
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
63
caste which prevail in that empire are as cruel and unyielding as those which chain the sudras in Hindostan to a hereditary state of pauperism and slavery. As an acute thinker has sagaciously observed, the Chinese seem to be antediluvian nien renewed. Their code of morals, their forms of worship, and their maxims of life are those of the remotest antiquity. In this aspect they stand a barrier against which the elevating tendency of a higher civilization exerts itself in vain. And, in an ethnological point of view, there can be no hope that any contact with our people, however long continued, will ever conform them to our institutions, enable them to compre- hend or appreciate our form of government, or to assume the duties or discharge the functions of citizens.
During their entire settlement in California they have never adapted themselves to our habits, modes of dress, or our educational system, have never learned the sanctity of an oath, never desired to become citizens, or to perform the duties of citizenship, never discov- ered the difference between right and wrong, never ceased the wor- ship of their idol gods, or advanced a step beyond the musty traditions of their native hive. Impregnable to all the influences of our Anglo-Saxon life, they remain the same stolid Asiatics that have floated on the rivers and slaved in the fields of China for thirty centuries of time.
In view of all this we inquire, what are the benefits conferred upon us by this isolated and degraded class? The only one ever suggested was " cheap labor." But if cheap labor means white famine it is a fearful benefit. If cheap labor means not only starvation for our own laborers, but a gradual, yet certain, depletion of the resources of our State for the enriching of a semi-civilized foreign country, it is a benefit hitherto unknown to the science of political economy. If cheap labor means servile labor, it is a burlesque on the policy of emancipation. And if this kind of cheap labor brings in its train the demoralization consequent upon the enforced idleness of our own race, the moral degradation attendant upon the presence in our midst of the most disgusting licentiousness, and the absolute cer- tainity of pestilence arising from the crowded condition and filthy habits of life of those who perform this so-called cheap labor, it were well for all of us that it should be abolished.
We thus find one-sixth of our entire population composed of Chi- nese coolies, not involuntary, but, by the unalterable structure of their intellectual being, voluntary slaves. This alien mass, con- stantly increasing by immigration, is injected into a republic of freemen, eating of its substance, expelling free white labor, and con- tributing nothing to the support of the government. All of the physical conditions of California are in the highest degree favorable to their influx. Our climate is essentially Asiatic in all its aspects. And the Federal Government by it legislation and treaties fosters and promotes the immigration. What is to be the result? Does it require any prophetic power to foretell? Can American statesmen project their vision forward for a quarter of a century and convince themselves that this problem will work out for itself a wise solution? In that brief period, with the same ratio of increase, this fair State will contain a Chinese population outnumbering its free men. White labor will be unknown, because unobtainable, and then how long a period will elapse before California will, nay must, become essen-
64
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
tially a State with but two orders of society — the master and the serf— a lesser Asia, with all its deathly lethargy?
Or, on the other hand, may we not foresee a more dire result?' Is it not possible that free white labor, unable to compete with these foreign serfs, and perceiving its condition becoming slowly but inev- itably more hopelessly abject, msiy unite in all the horrors of riot and insurrection, and defying the civil power, extirpate with fire and sword those who rob them of their bread, yet yield no tribute to the State ? This is a frightful possibility, but we have within a brief period witnessed its portents, and had it not been for the untiring vigilance of the conservative portion of our people, we might have seen not only the Chinese quarters, but our cities, in ashes, and fam- ilies homeless, and the prosperity and good fame of California shat- tered and disgraced.
It is no answer that these uprisings are the work of the criminal classes only — they have a root deep as the sense of self-preservation. Throughout the length and breadth of California the white laborer knows the effect of this grinding competition. _ He reads it not in books, nor in the press; he learns it from no lips; he feels it in the empty pocket, the hopeless search for labor, and the gaunt want that sits at his hearth.
The duty devolves upon us to suggest a remedy for the suppression of this immigration.
The Chinese now here are protected by our treaty obligations and laws, and that they will continue to receive that protection the peo- ple and government of this State will be responsible. If further immigration is prevented they will gradually return to their own country, and the occupations in which they are now engaged will be supplied with laborers and immigrants of our own race. The tem- per of the people of California is such that the employment of Chinese will be, as it has to a considerable extent already been, dis- couraged, and this will effectually compel their departure.
As to future immigration, neither a total nor partial abrogation of the Burlingame treaty will afford relief. The mass of, indeed the entire immigration comes from the port of Hongkong, a British Colony. No alteration in our treaty stipulations with China could have the slightest effect upon the passenger trade of that port.
The British Colonies of Australia have, like us, suffered under the incubus, and have recently endeavored by hostile legislation, and in some instances by force, to effect the exclusion and obstruct the fur- ther ingress of Chinese. Those agitations, coupled with the earnest and uniform policy of Great Britain of suppressing any traffic resem- bling the slave trade, convince us that an appeal to that country would lead to the desired result. Indeed, we may well assume, in view of the amicable relations existing between the English Cabinet and people and the United States that, in the absence of any urgent reasons addressing themselves peculiarly to Her Majesty's Govern- ment, it would, upon proper diplomatic representations, cordially cooperate with our own government in arriving at a satisfactory remedy.
With the Chinese Government there need be no difficulty. As will appear by the report, that government is opposed to the emigra- tion of its people, and in our judgment, founded upon reliable evi- dence, would readily consent to a modification of existing treaties ;
Memorial to the Congress of the United States.
65
and for this reason, also, such modification would not necessarily disturb in any manner our commercial relations with China.
We would, therefore, most respectfully suggest as the means of a final solution of this grave and ever increasing difficulty:
First — An appeal to the Government, of Great Britain to cooperate with our own government in the absolute prohibition of this trade in men and women; and
Second — The joint and friendly action of the two countries with the Empire of China in the abrogation of all treaties between the three nations permitting the emigration of Chinese to the United States.
And in the meantime we earnestly recommend legislation by Con- gress limiting the number of Chinese allowed to be landed from any vessel entering the ports of the United States, to, say, not more than ten.
This policy would in a great degree tend to a redress of the griev- ances that now sorely afflict our State, and threaten to overshadow her prosperity.
And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.
Adopted at a meeting of the Committee held in the City of San Francisco, August thirteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven.
CREED HAYMOND, Chairman.
Attest : F. Shay, Secretary.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSION.
CHINESE IMMIGRATION.
On the third day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, in the Senate of the State of California, the Hon. Creed Haymond, Senator from the Eighteenth Senatorial District, offered the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :
Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That a committee of five Senators be appointed, with power to sit at any time or place within the State, and the said committee shall make inquiry :
1. As to the number of Chinese in this State and the effect their presence has upon the social and political condition of the State.
2. As to the probable result of Chinese immigration upon the country, if such immigration be not discouraged.
3. As to the means of exflnsion, if such committee should be of the opinion that the presence of the Chinese rl- im ni in .mi- miilst is detrimental to the interests of the country.
4. Astosmli i; I iii't ' I-, ill the judgment of the committee, have a bearing upon the question of ( h : h. And be it further
Resolved, 'J'li i . . . m t, en or before the first day of December, eighteen hundred and
seventy-six. sli:i 1 1 |.iv|i;ii, ;i niruiorial to the Congress of the United States, which memorial must set out at. leiigtli llie llicts in relation to the subject of this inquiry, and such conclusions as the committee may have arrived at as to the policy and means of excluding Chinese from the country. And be it further
Resolved, That such committee is authorized and directed to have printed, at the State Print- ing Office, a sufficient number of copies of such memorial, and of the testimony taken by said committee, to furnish copies thereof to the leading newspapers of the United States, five copies.- to each member of Congress, ten copies to the Governor of each State, and to deposit two thousand copies with the Secretary of State ol California for general distribution. And be it further
Resolved, That such committee shall, on or before the first Monday in December, eighteen hundred and seventv-six, lurnisli to the Governor of the State of California two copies of said memorial, properlv engrossed, and the Governor, upon receipt thereof, be requested to transmit, throuo-h the proper channels, one of said copies to the Senate and the other to the House of Ee]iresentatives of the United States. And be it further
Resolreil, That said committee have full power to send for persons and papers, and to admin- ister oaths and examine witnesses under oath, and that a majority of said committee shall constitute a quorum. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee shall have power to employ a Sergea.nt-at-Arms, at a compen- sation not to ex(«ed two hundred and fifty dollars, and a phonographic reporter at a compensa- tion not to exceed one thousand dollars, and that two thousand dollars of the Contingent Fund of the Senate be set aside, out of which such compensation and the contingent and traveling expenses of the committee shall be paid upon the order of the Chairman thereof. And be it further
Resolved, That said committee report to the Senate, at its next session, the proceedings had hereunder.
Subsequently, on motion, the Senate increased the number of the Committee to seven, and the following Senators were appointed on said Committee: Senators Haymond, McCoppin, Pierson, Donovan, Rogers, Lewis, and Evans.
I'KOCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSION.
TESTIMONY
TAKEN BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
The Committee appointed by the Senate of the State of California to investigate the subject of Chinese immigration met at two o'clock p. M.
Present — Senator Haymond, Chairman; Senators Evans, Lewis, Donovan, McCoppin, Rogers, and Pierson.
Frank Shay was elected official reporter, and Cronk, Sergeant-
at-Arms.
The Committee adjourned to meet at the City of San Francisco on the eleventh day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-six.
The Committee met pursuant to adjournment — ^present, all the members — and proceeded to take testimony, as follows:
F. F. Low sworn.
Mr. Pierson — How long did you reside in China?
A — I resided there about three years and a half.
Q. — In what parts of China ?
A. — Chiefly in Pekin ; that was my residence.
Q. — Are you familiar with the immigration of Chinese to this State?
A.— Not from personal observation, because I was in a different part of the empire than from whence this immigration comes.
Q. — From where does it come?
A. — Principally from Hongkong.
Q. — What position did you occupy in China?
A. — Minister Plenipotentiary from the United States to the Em- peror of China.
Q. — During what years?