SAN FRANCISCO (_Concluded_).
The Chinese Question, we had an opportunity of looking into
considerably, first and last, and here are some conclusions. Striking
the orientals at Boisè City, in Idaho, we had followed them down
the Columbia and the Coast to San Francisco, and here endeavored
to learn all we could about them. We found them everywhere on the
streets and in the houses, in pretty much all occupations except the
very highest, and were constantly amazed at their general thrift and
intelligence. Out of the hundred thousand or so on the Coast, perhaps
half were massed in San Francisco and its suburbs; so here was the
place to see and study John Chinaman in America, if anywhere. All
wore the collarless Chinese blouse, looped across the breast, not
buttoned--that of the poorer classes of coarse blue stuff, but of
the richer of broadcloth. Otherwise, they dressed outwardly chiefly
as Americans. Here and there a Chinese hat, such as you see in the
tea-prints, appeared, but not often--the American felt-hat being the
rule, stove-pipes never. A Chinaman with a stove-pipe hat on would
truly be an anomaly, a violation of all the unities and proprieties
at once. A good many still wore the Chinese shoe, wooden-soled, with
cotton uppers; but the American boot and shoe were fast supplanting
this, especially among the out-door classes, such as mechanics and
laborers. Pig-tails were universal, generally hanging down, but
often coiled around the head, under the hat, so as to be out of the
way and attract less attention. In features, of course, they were
all true Mongolians; but here and there were grand faces, worthy of
humanity anywhere. Their food consists chiefly of fish and rice;
but the wealthier classes indulge freely in poultry and beef, and
the Chinese taste for these was constantly on the increase. The old
stories of their dog and rat diet are evidently myths, at least here
in America, and no doubt are equally so in China, except in very
rare instances, among the poorest classes, and even then only under
the direst necessity. Intelligent Californians laugh at such reports
as antediluvian, and say their Chinese neighbors are only too glad
to eat the very best, if they can only get it. Everybody gave them
credit for sobriety, intelligence, and thrift, the three great master
qualities of mankind, practically speaking; and without them the
industry of the Pacific Coast, it was conceded, would soon come to a
stand-still. All are expert at figures, all read and write their own
tongue, and nearly all seemed intent on mastering English, as quickly
and thoroughly as possible. When not at work or otherwise occupied,
they were usually seen with a book in their hands, and seemed much
given to reading and study. Their chief vices were gambling, and
opium-smoking; but these did not seem to prevail to the extent we had
heard, and appeared really less injurious, than the current vices of
other races on the Coast, all things considered. The statistics of
the city and Coast somehow were remarkably in their favor, showing a
less percentage of vagrancy and crime among these heathens, than any
other part of the population, notwithstanding the absurd prejudices
and barbarous discriminations against them. Their quickness to learn
all American ways, even when not able to speak our tongue, was
very surprising. They engaged in all household duties, ran errands,
worked at trades, performed all kinds of manual labor, and yet as a
rule, their only dialect was a sort of chow-chow or "Pigeon English,"
of which the following is a good specimen. It is Longfellow's
"Excelsior" done into Pigeon-English, and speaks for itself.
"TOPSIDE GALAH.
"That nightee teem he come chop chop,
One young man walkee, no can stop;
Colo maskee, icee maskee;
He got flag; chop b'long welly culio, see--
Topside Galah!
"He too muchee solly; one piecee eye,
Lookee sharp--so fashion--alla same mi;
He talkee largee, talkee stlong,
Too muchee culio; alla same gong--
Topside Galah!
"Inside any housee he can see light,
Any piecee loom got fire all light;
He look see plenty ice more high,
Inside he mouf he plenty cly--
Topside Galah!
"'No can walkee!' olo man speakee he;
'Bimeby lain come, no can see;
Hab got water, welly wide!
Maskee, mi must go topside--
Topside Galah!
"'Man-man,' one galo talkee he;
'What for you go topside look-see?'
'Nother teem,' he makee plenty cly;
Maskee, alla teem walkee plenty high--
Topside Galah!
"'Take care that spilum tlee, young man;
Take care that icee!' he no man-man;
That coolie chin-chin he good night;
He talkee, 'mi can go all light'--
Topside Galah!
"Joss pidgin man chop chop begin,
Morning teem that Joss chin-chin,
No see any man, he plenty fear,
Cause some man talkee, he can hear--
Topside Galah!
"Young man makee die: one largee dog see,
Too muchee bobbery, findee he;
Hand too muchee colo, inside can stop;
Alla same piecee flag, got culio chop--
Topside Galah!"
"Pigeon" is said to be the nearest approach a Chinaman can make to
"_business_," and hence "Pigeon English" really means _business_
English. Most of the above words are English, more or less distorted; a
few, however, are Chinese Anglicised. They always use _l_ for _r_--thus
_lice_ for "rice;" _mi_ for "I," etc.; and abound in terminal "_ee's_."
_Chop-chop_ means "very fast;" _maskee_, "don't mind;" _Topside Galah_,
"_Excelsior, hurrah!_" If you call on a lady, and inquire of her
Chinese servant, "Missee have got?" He will reply, if she be up and
about, "Missee hab got topside;" or, if she be still asleep, "Missee
hab got, wakee sleepee." Not wishing to disturb her, you hand him your
card, and go away with, "Maskee, maskee; no makee bobbery!"
We had seen a good deal of the Chinese generally, but on the evening
of Dec. 31st were so fortunate as to meet most of their leading men
together. The occasion was a grand banquet at the _Occidental_, given
by the merchants of San Francisco, in honor of the sailing of the
_Colorado_, the first steamer of the new monthly line to Hong-Kong.
All the chief men of the city--merchants, lawyers, clergymen,
politicians--were present, and among the rest some twenty or more
Chinese merchants and bankers. The Governor of the State presided, and
the military and civil dignitaries most eminent on the Coast were all
there. The magnificent Dining-Room of the _Occidental_ was handsomely
decorated with festoons and flowers, and tastefully draped with the
flags of all nations--chief among which, of course, were our own Stars
and Stripes, and the Yellow-Dragon of the Flowery Empire. A peculiar
feature was an infinity of bird-cages all about the room, from which
hundreds of canaries and mockingbirds discoursed exquisite music
the livelong evening. The creature comforts disposed of, there were
eloquent addresses by everybody, and among the rest one by Mr. Fung
Tang, a young Chinese merchant, who made one of the briefest and most
sensible of them all. It was in fair English, and vastly better than
the average of post-prandial discourses. This was the only set speech
by a Chinaman, but the rest conversed freely in tolerable English, and
in deportment were certainly perfect Chesterfields of courtesy and
propriety. They were mostly large, dignified, fine-looking men, and two
of them--Mr. Hop Kee, a leading tea-merchant, and Mr. Chy Lung, a noted
silk-factor--had superb heads and faces, that would have attracted
attention anywhere. They sat by themselves; but several San Franciscans
of note shared their table, and everybody hob-nobbed with them, more
or less, throughout the evening. These were the representatives of
the great Chinese Emigration and Banking Companies, whose checks pass
current on 'Change in San Francisco, for a hundred thousand dollars or
more any day, and whose commercial integrity so far was unstained.
There are five of these Companies in all, the Yung-Wo, the Sze-Yap,
the Sam-Yap, the Yan-Wo, and the Ning-Yung. They contract with their
countrymen in China to transport them to America, insure them constant
work while here at fixed wages, and at the expiration of their contract
return them to China again, dead or alive, if so desired. They each
have a large and comfortable building in San Francisco, where they
board and lodge their members, when they first arrive, or when sick, or
out of work, or on a visit from the interior. Chinese beggars are rare
on the Coast, and our public hospitals contain no Chinese patients,
although John before landing has always to pay a "hospital-tax" of ten
dollars. This is what it is called out there; but, of course, it is a
robbery and swindle, which the Golden State ought promptly to repeal.
These great Companies also act, as express-agents and bankers, all
over the Coast. In all the chief towns and mining districts, wherever
you enter a Chinese quarter or camp, you will find a representative of
one or more of them, who will procure anything a Chinaman needs, from
home or elsewhere; and faithfully remit to the Flowery Kingdom whatever
he wants to send, even his own dead body. Both parties appear to keep
their contracts well--a breach of faith being seldom recorded. Here,
surely, is evidence of fine talent for organization and management--the
best tests of human intellect and capacity--and a hint at the existence
of sterling qualities, which the English-speaking nations are slow
to credit other races with. Such gigantic schemes, such far-reaching
plans, such harmonious workings, and exact results, imply a genius
for affairs, that not even the Anglo-Saxon can afford to despise, and
which all others may ponder with profit. A race that can plan and
execute such things as these, must have some vigor and virility in it,
whatever its other peculiarities.
Some days after the Banquet, we were driven out to the Mission Woolen
Mills, where Donald McLennan, a Massachusetts Scotch-Yankee, was
converting California wool into gold. The climate being so favorable
to sheep, the wool-product of the coast was already large, and
everywhere rapidly increasing. In 1867, California alone yielded
ten million pounds, and the rest of the coast fully two millions
more. Of this amount, about one-half was consumed on the Pacific
Coast, and the balance exported to New York and Liverpool. The
average price per pound in San Francisco was about seventeen cents,
coin; but this was lower, than it had usually been.[16] There were
several other Woolen Mills on the Coast; but the Mission-Mills were
the largest, and had a great reputation for honest work. They were
then doing a business of about a million dollars per year, coin,
in cloths, cassimeres, blankets, flannels, shawls, etc., and the
demand for their goods was constantly on the increase. Their work,
on the whole, was of a superior character, and Californians were
justly very proud of it. They were supplying all the Army blankets
in use on the Coast, and what a contrast they were to the "shoddy"
webs, issued to our Boys in Blue east during the war! The troops
transferred from the east now threw their old Army blankets away, on
arriving in San Francisco, and gladly furnished themselves with these
Mission blankets, at their own expense, before leaving for the wilds
of Washington and Arizona. Some extra specimens, intended for the
Paris Exposition, as white as new-fallen snow and soft as satin, had
the American and French coats of arms embroidered very handsomely
on them. Another pair, meant for General Grant, were lustrous with
the Stars and Stripes, and traditional eagle, and now no doubt help
to furnish the White House. A pair sent to Gen. M. in the east, a
noted connoisseur in blankets, he declared the finest he ever saw,
and added, "My daughter would make one of them into an opera-cloak,
they are so elegant, if she hadn't one already." I mention all these
things thus particularly, in order to emphasize the fact, that out of
the 450 persons then employed about these Mills, 350 were Chinamen.
For the heavier work, Americans or Europeans were preferred; but
the more delicate processes, we were assured, Chinamen learned more
quickly and performed more deftly, besides never becoming drunk, or
disorderly, or going on a "strike." We saw them at the looms, engaged
in the most painstaking and superb pieces of workmanship, and they
could not have been more attentive and exact, if they had been a part
of the machinery itself. And yet, these one hundred Anglo-Saxons were
paid $2,95 per day, coin, while the three hundred and fifty Chinamen
received only $1,10 per day, coin, though the average work of each
was about the same. Without this cheap labor of John Chinaman,
these Mills would have had to close up; with it, they were run at
a profit, and at the same time were a great blessing and credit
to the Pacific Coast in every way. So, also, the Central Pacific
Railroad was then being pushed through and over the Sierra Nevadas,
by some ten thousand Chinamen, working for one dollar per day each,
in coin, and finding themselves, when no other labor could be had
for less than two dollars and a half per day, coin. It was simply a
question with the Central directors, whether to build the road or
not. Without John, it was useless to attempt it, as the expense
would have bankrupted the company, even if other labor could have
been had, which was problematical. With him, the road is already a
fact accomplished; and in view of possible contingencies, nationally
and politically, who shall say we have completed it an hour too
soon? Here are practical results, not shadowy theories--of such a
character, too, as should give one pause, however anti-Chinese, and
ought to outweigh a world of prejudices.
Not long afterwards, we were invited to join a party of gentlemen,
and make a tour of the Chinese quarter. Part were from the East,
like ourselves, bent on information, and the rest Pacific-Coasters.
We started early in the evening, escorted by two policemen, who were
familiar with the ins and outs of Chinadom, and did not reach the
_Occidental_ again until long after midnight. We went first to the
Chinese Theatre, an old hotel on the corner of Jackson and Dupont
streets, that had recently been metamorphosed into an Oriental
play-house. We found two or three hundred Chinese here, of both
sexes, but mainly males, listening to a play, that required eighty
weeks or months--our informants were not certain which--to complete
its performance. Here was drama for you, surely, and devotion
to it! It was a history of the Flowery Kingdom, by some Chinese
Shakespeare--half-tragedy, half-comedy, like most human history--and
altogether was a curious medley. The actors appeared to be of both
sexes, but we were told were only men and boys. Their dresses were
usually very rich, the finest of embroidered silks, and their acting
quite surprised us. Their pantomime was excellent, their humor
irresistible, and their love-passages a good reproduction of the grand
passion, that in all ages "makes the world go round." But it is to be
doubted, if the Anglo-Saxon ear will ever become quite reconciled
to John's orchestra. This consisted of a rough drum, a rude banjo or
guitar, and a sort of violin, over whose triple clamors a barbarous
clarionet squeaked and squealed continually. Japanese music, as
rendered by Risley's troupe of "Jugglers," is much similar to it; only
John's orchestra is louder, and more hideous. Much of the play was
pantomime, and other much opera; some, however, was common dialogue,
and when this occurred, the clash and clang of the Chinese consonants
was something fearful. Every word seemed to end in "ng," as Chang,
Ling, Hong, Wung; and when the parts became animated, their voices
roared and rumbled about the stage, like Chinese gongs in miniature.
The general behavior of the audience was good; everybody, however,
smoked--the majority cigars and cigarritos, a very few opium. Over the
theatre was a Chinese lottery-office, on entering which the proprietor
tendered you wine and cigars, like a genuine Californian. He himself
was whiffing away at a cigarrito, and was as polite and politic, as
a noted New York ex-M. C., in the same lucrative business. Several
Chinamen dropped in to buy tickets, while we were there; and the
business seemed to be conducted on the same principle, or rather want
of principle, as among Anglo-Saxons elsewhere.
Next we explored the famous Barbary Coast, and witnessed scenes that
Charles Dickens never dreamed of, with all his studies of the dens
and slums of London and Paris. Here in narrow, noisome alleys are
congregated the wretched Chinese women, that are imported by the
ship-load, mainly for infamous purposes. As a class, they are small
in stature, scarcely larger than an American girl of fourteen, and
usually quite plain. Some venture on hoops and crinoline, but the
greater part retain the Chinese wadded gown and trousers. Their
chignons are purely Chinese--huge, unique, indescribable--and would
excite the envy even of a Broadway belle. They may be seen on the
street any day in San Francisco, bonnetless, fan in hand, hobbling
along in their queer little shoes, perfect fac-similes of the figures
you see on lacquered ware imported from the Orient. They are not more
immodest, than those of our own race, who ply the same vocation in
Philadelphia and New York; and their fellow-countrymen, it seemed,
behaved decently well even here. But here is the great resort
of sailors, miners, 'long-shoremen, and the floating population
generally of San Francisco, and the brutality and bestiality of the
Saxon and the Celt here all comes suddenly to the surface, as if we
were fiends incarnate. Here are the St. Giles of London and the Five
Points of New York, magnified and intensified (if possible), both
crowded into one, and what a hideous example it is for Christendom
to set to Heathendom! San Francisco owes it to herself, and to our
boasted civilization, to cleanse this Augean stable--to obliterate,
to stamp out this plague-spot--to purge it, if need be, by fire--and
she has not a day to lose in doing it. It is the shameful spectacle,
shocking alike to gods and men, of a strong race trampling a weaker
one remorselessly in the mud; and justice will not sleep forever,
confronted by such enormities.
The same evening we took a turn through the Chinese gambling-houses,
but did not find them worse than similar institutions elsewhere.
Indeed, they were rather more quiet and respectable, than the
average of such "hells" in San Francisco. They were frequented
solely by Chinamen, and though John is not averse to "fighting the
tiger," he proposes to do it in his own _dolce far niente_ way. They
seemed to have only one game, which consisted in betting whether
in diminishing steadily a given pile of perforated brass-coins, an
odd or even number of them would at last be left. The banker with a
little rod, drew the coins, two at a time, rapidly out of the pile
towards himself, and when the game was ended all parties cheerfully
paid up their losses or pocketed their gains. The stakes were small,
seldom more than twenty-five or fifty cents each, and disputes
infrequent. A rude idol or image of Josh, with a lamp constantly
burning before it, appeared in all these dens, and indeed was
universal throughout the Chinese quarter.
The Chinese New Year comes in February, and is an occasion of rare
festivities. It began at midnight on the 4th that year, and was
ushered in with a lavish discharge of fire-crackers and rockets, to
which our usual Fourth of July bears about the same comparison as
a minnow to a whale. The fusilade of crackers continued, more or
less, for a day or two, until the whole Chinese quarter was littered
with their remains. It takes them three days to celebrate this
holiday, and during all this period there was a general suspension of
business, and every Chinaman kept open house. Their leading merchants
welcomed all "Melican" men who called upon them, and the Celestials
themselves were constantly passing from house to house, exchanging
the compliments of the season. I dropped in upon several, whom I had
met at the Banquet, and now have lying before me the unique cards
of Mr. Hop Kee, Mr. Chy Lung, Mr. Fung Tang, Messrs. Tung Fu and
Co., Messrs. Kwoy Hing and Co., Messrs. Sun Chung Kee and Co., etc.
Several of these understood and spoke English very well, and all bore
themselves becomingly, like well-to-do gentlemen. Like the majority
of their countrymen, many were small; but some were full-sized,
athletic men, scarcely inferior, if at all, to our average American.
Their residences were usually back of their stores, and here we
everywhere found refreshments set out, and all invited to partake,
with a truly Knickerbocker hospitality. Tea, sherry, champagne,
cakes, sweetmeats, cigars, all were offered without stint, but never
pressed unduly. For three days the whole Chinese quarter was thus
given up to wholesale rejoicing, and hundreds of Americans flocked
thither, to witness the festivity and fun. John everywhere appeared
in his best bib and tucker, if not with a smile on his face, yet
with a look of satisfaction and content; for this was the end of his
debts, as well as the beginning of a new year. At this period, by
Chinese custom or law, a general settlement takes place among them, a
balance is struck between debtor and creditor, and everybody starts
afresh. If unable to pay up, the debtor surrenders his assets for
the equal benefit of his creditors, his debts are sponged out, and
then with a new ledger and a clean conscience he "picks his flint
and tries it again." This is the merciful, if not sensible, Bankrupt
Law of the Chinese, in force among these heathen for thousands of
years--"for a time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the
contrary"--and its humane and wise provisions suggest, whether our
Christian legislators, after all, may not have something to learn,
even from Pagan codes.
The Chinese temple, synagogue, or "Josh-House," of which we had
heard such conflicting reports, stands near the corner of Kearney
and Pine streets, in the heart of the city. It is a simple structure
of brick, two or three stories high, and would attract little or no
attention, were it not for a plain marble slab over the entrance,
with "Sze-Yap Asylum" carved upon it, in gilt letters, and the same
repeated in Chinese characters. It was spoken of as a "Heathen
Synagogue," a "Pagan Temple," etc., and we had heard much ado about
it, from people of the William Nye school chiefly, long before
reaching San Francisco. But, in reality, it appeared to be only an
asylum or hospital, for the unemployed and infirm of the Sze-Yap
Emigration Company; with a small "upper chamber," set apart for such
religious services, as to them seemed meet. The other companies all
have similar hospitals or asylums, but we visited only this one.
The first room on the ground-floor seemed to be the business-room
or council-chamber of the company, and this was adorned very richly
with crimson and gold. Silk-hangings were on the walls, arm-chairs
elaborately carved along the sides, and at the end on a raised
platform stood a table and chair, as if ready for business. The room
adjoining seemed to be the general smoking and lounging room of the
members of the company. Here several Chinamen lay stretched out,
on rude but comfortable lounges, two smoking opium, all the rest
only cigarritos--taking their afternoon siesta. Back of this were
the dining-room, kitchen, etc., but we did not penetrate thither.
A winding stairs brought us to the second floor, and here was the
place reserved for religious purposes,--an "upper chamber" perhaps
twenty by thirty feet, or even less. Its walls and ceiling were
hung with silk, and here and there were placards, inscribed with
moral maxims from Confucius and other writers, much as we suspend
the same on the walls of our Sunday-school rooms, with verses on
them from _our_ Sacred writings. These mottoes, of course, were in
Chinese; but they were said to exhort John to virtue, fidelity,
integrity, the veneration of ancestors, and especially to admonish
the young men not to forget, that they are away from home, and to
do nothing to prejudice the character of their country in the eyes
of foreigners. A few gilded spears and battle-axes adorned either
side, while overhead hung clusters of Chinese lanterns, unique and
beautiful. Flowers were scattered about quite profusely, both natural
and artificial--the latter perfect in their way. At the farther
end of the room, in "a dim religious light," amid a barbaric array
of bannerets and battle-axes, stood their sacred Josh--simply a
Representative Chinaman, perhaps half life-size, with patient pensive
eyes, long drooping moustaches, and an expression doubtless meant
for sublime repose or philosophic indifference. Here all orthodox
Chinamen in San Francisco, connected with the Sze-Yap company, were
expected to come at least once a year, and propitiate the deity
by burning a slip of paper before his image. There was also some
praying to be done, but this was accomplished by putting printed
prayers in a machine run by clock-work. Tithes there were none--at
least worth mentioning. Altogether, this seemed to be a very easy
and cheap religion; and yet, easy as it was, John did not seem to
trouble himself much about it. The place looked much neglected, as
if worshippers were scarce, and devotees infrequent. A priest or
acolyte, who came in and trimmed the ever-burning lamp, without
even a bow or genuflection to Josh, was the only person about the
"Temple," while we were there. The dormitories and apartments for the
sick and infirm, we were told, were on this same floor and above; but
we did not visit them. This Josh-worship, such as it is, seemed to
be general among the Chinese, except the handful gathered into the
various Christian churches; but it did not appear to be more than a
ceremony. The truth is, John is a very practical creature, and was
already beginning to understand, that he is in a new land and among
new ideas. Surely, our vigorous, aggressive California Christians
stand in no danger from such Pagan "Temples," and our all-embracing
nationality can well afford to tolerate them, as China in turn
tolerates ours. The hospital and asylum part of them, we might well
imitate; and as for the rest, is it not Emerson, who says:
"_We_ are masters of the years,
Of the seven stars and golden spheres,
Of Cæsar's hand and Plato's brain,
Of Lord Christ's heart, and Shakespeare's strain?"
Our own religion and civilization are too potent, or ought to be, to
be affected by such a worship; and if its simple rites comfort or
content John in his rough transition to the nineteenth century, let
him practice them in peace. If treated wisely, it will not be long
before he discards them forever.
So much for the Chinese in San Francisco. Elsewhere, throughout
California and Nevada, subsequently, we saw them at work in
vineyards, on farms, in the mines, and their industry, fidelity,
and skill were conceded substantially by everybody. This Chinese
Problem, of course, has its embarrassments; but it is already looming
into importance, and must be met. Already we have nearly a hundred
thousand of these almond-eyed strangers on the Pacific Coast, and the
number swells monthly. In spite of obstructions and discouragements,
this yellow stream sets steadily in, and seems as irresistible as the
tide, if not as inexhaustible. China, with her teeming population of
four hundred millions of souls, or one-third of the human family,
has already overflowed into all the countries adjacent to her, and
now seeks further outlet here in America. To her, it is simply a
question of increase and subsistence. And here, fortunately, from
Alaska to the Isthmus, we have room enough and to spare, for all her
surplus millions. With her, labor is a drug, the cheapest article
she has, and so she exports it. With us, it is largely in demand,
and everywhere rising in value. The Pacific slope, and the great
internal basin of the continent, to-day absolutely need millions of
cheap workers--men, who can deftly handle the pick-axe and the spade,
the plow and the hoe, the shuttle and the loom, and, it is plain,
must get them from Asia, or not get them at all; for the Atlantic
slope, and our great West, stand ready to absorb all Europe can
spare, and more. With John, their mines will be opened, their forests
cleared, their fields irrigated and tilled, their railroads built,
their cotton and woollen-mills erected and run, and in short every
avenue of industry and trade made busy and prosperous. Without John,
a vast expanse of matchless territory there must remain practically
a wilderness and a desert, for long years to come. Is it wise, then,
would it be humane and sensible--to turn aside from and reject these
patient, industrious, orderly, frugal, labor-seeking, business-loving
strangers, whom Providence just now seems to tender us, as a
mighty means for subduing and civilizing the continent; or should
we not, rather, accept them thankfully, as God's instruments for
good, and make the most of their brain and muscle? The inexorable,
all-prevailing law of supply and demand, it would seem, has already
settled this question, or is in a fair way to settle it; and it but
remains to consider, what we shall _do_ with them.
In the first place, John nowhere aspires to vote, nor even to be
a citizen. So far, his sole claim has been for the right to work,
and to receive "a fair day's wages for a fair day's work." With the
imperturbability of fate, he has settled down on this, and calmly
awaits our answer, not doubting the result. If you object, that he
persists in being a foreigner, all expecting some day to return to
China, his answer is all immigrants to a new country are more or less
of that mind; and, besides, as yet nothing has been done to induce
him to Americanize himself. Their leading men said, no doubt many of
their countrymen would bring their wives and children here, and settle
down among us, if they could be sure of safety and protection; but
that now California was "no place for a China _woman_--hardly safe for
a China_man_!" They said, they had found America very good for work,
and "muchee" good for business; but they had to pay odious taxes, not
exacted of other persons--were not permitted to testify in court,
except for or against each other--were abused and maltreated from one
end of the Coast to the other--were at the mercy of white ruffians,
who might rob and even kill them, with impunity, unless Caucasians
were present--and, in short, that as yet Chinamen here "had no rights
that Melican men were bound to respect." Now, I say, let us change all
this. Let us do justice, even to the poorest and humblest of God's
children. Let us give John, too, "a _fair_ start and an _equal_ chance
in the race of life," the same as every other human being on American
soil; and we shall soon check the re-flow to the Flowery Kingdom, and
build up an empire on the Pacific Coast, worthy of our matchless soil
and climate there. Existing labor and skill might suffer somewhat at
first, as in all industrial changes; but, in the end, they would become
employers, and supply the brains to guide the Mongolian hand and foot.
The first generation passed away, the next de-Chinaized, Americanized,
and educated, would soon become absorbed in the national life, and
known only as model artisans and workers. As the ocean receives all
rains and rivers, and yet shows it not, so America receives the Saxon
and the Celt, the Protestant and the Catholic, and can yet receive
Sambo and John, and absorb them all. The school-house and the church,
the newspaper and the telegraph, can be trusted to work out their
logical results; and time, our sure ally, would shape and fashion even
these into keen American citizens.
There were indications, that the Coast had fallen to thinking seriously
of all this, and somehow meant to deal more justly with the Chinese
hereafter. The anti-Chinese mobs in the cities and towns were passing
away, and even among the mining-camps Vigilance Committees were
beginning to execute rough justice on thieves and murderers, when their
treatment of John became too flagrant and notorious.[17] Capital,
always keen-sighted, was getting to see the necessity for their labor
and skill, and the culture and conscience of the Coast were already
on their side. Gov. Low, (since Minister to China, most fittingly)
presided at the _Occidental_ Banquet, and in his remarks there took
strong ground in their favor. He said, among other good things:
"We must learn to treat the Chinese who come to live among us
decently, and not oppress them by unfriendly legislation, nor
allow them to be abused, robbed and murdered, without extending
to them any adequate remedy.
"I am a strong believer in the strength of mind and muscle of the
Anglo-Saxon race, which will win in the contest for supremacy
with any people, without the aid of unequal and oppressive laws;
and the man, who is afraid to take his chances on equal terms
with his opponents, is a coward and unworthy the name of an
American.
"Were I to sum up the whole duty imposed upon us, I should
say, let us be honest, industrious and frugal, be persevering
and progressive, and remember Raleigh's maxim, that 'Whoever
commands the sea commands the trade of the world, and whoever
commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world,
and consequently the world itself.'"
So, the pulpit, and the press, as a rule, omitted no opportunity
to speak a kind word for them, and to denounce the barbarism, and
absurdity, of existing statutes against them. In San Francisco,
a public-school had been established for their benefit, and was
crowded day and night with adult Chinamen striving to learn English.
The public-school fund running short that year, (1867) the Chinese
merchants promptly volunteered to eke out the appropriation, rather
than have the Board of Education close the school. Since then the
Rev. Dr. Gibson, (formerly a Methodist missionary to China, and a
man of great energy and force), has started his Sunday-Schools,
expecting to plant them all over the Coast, and there seems a marked
uprising in John's behalf generally. True, Mr. Senator Casserly,
himself a catholic foreigner and the negro-hating democracy, are
just now essaying a crusade against them; but this is because the
XVth Amendment has ended the "nigger," and they are sadly in want
of political capital. Our churches have certainly, now and here,
a noble opportunity for effective and valuable missionary work.
Instead of having to go half round the globe, across the sea, into
malarious regions, among Pagan influences, to seek out the lost sheep
of the House of Israel, we here have the heathen at our back-door,
and ought to unfurl the Banner of the Cross to them, in every
town and from every hillside. The story of the Yankee, who gave a
missionary-collector a quarter of a dollar, and when he was leaving
called him back, and gave him a dollar more, "to send that quarter
along," has it not some grains of truth in it? Here the whole dollar
and a quarter may be made immediately effective, and our missionary
money should be forthcoming without stint. Not only would we thus
more readily and cheaply evangelize the Chinese on our shores, but
their returning thousands in turn would evangelize their countrymen
at home; and we would thus accomplish a hundredfold more for China,
than our missionaries there now seem to be doing, judging by their
statistics, all put together. And not only do our Chinese themselves
call for this, but the harmony and purity of the national life demand
it, and may our churches awake to their great responsibility. Here is
their true field for instant and aggressive missionary work, and they
should occupy it overwhelmingly.
From a full survey of this _questio vexata_, I must conclude, if
"God made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell upon the
earth," if we are children of a common Father, redeemed by a common
Saviour, and bound for a common eternity; if the good old rule,
"whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto
them," (which the Chinese had in a negative form a thousand years
before the Sermon on the Mount), is not yet effete; if we believe
with Thomas Jefferson, that "all men are created equal, and endowed
by their Creator with the inalienable rights of life and liberty;"
then, we are bound as a nation to accord justice and fair-play even
to these poor Mongolians, yellow-skinned, pig-tailed, and heathen
though they be. Now, as heretofore, and always, we shall find our
reward as a people in right-doing. Right is always politic. Justice
is never wrong. And let us as a nation do right, even to the humblest
of God's creatures, and leave the consequences with Him, who holds
in his hands the destinies alike of individuals and of races. This
is not always an easy road; but the Republic has already travelled
it so far, and so courageously, we can not now afford to depart from
it. Justice, if the sky falls. But, we may be sure, it will not fall.
Rather, it will stand all the firmer and broader, for the Justice
done and Humanity saved.
FOOTNOTES:
[16] In 1873, she yielded 36,000,000 pounds, which she sold for about
twenty cents per pound, or say $7,000,000.
[17] See p. 225.