Social sciences; United States -- Politics and government -- 1901-1909
¶Our laws and treaties should be framed, not so as to put these people
in the excepted classes, but to state that we will admit all Chinese,
except Chinese of the coolie class, Chinese skilled or unskilled
laborers. There would not be the least danger that any such provision
would result in any relaxation of the law about laborers. These will,
under all conditions, be kept out absolutely. But it will be more easy
to see that both justice and courtesy are shown, as they ought to be
shown, to other Chinese, if the law or treaty is framed as above
suggested. Examinations should be completed at the port of departure
from China. For this purpose there should be provided a more adequate
consular service in China than we now have. The appropriations, both for
the offices of the consuls and for the office forces in the consulates,
should be increased.
¶As a people we have talked much of the open door in China, and we
expect, and quite rightly intend to insist upon, justice being shown us
by the Chinese. But we cannot expect to receive equity unless we do
equity. We can not ask the Chinese to do to us what we are unwilling to
do to them. They would have a perfect right to exclude our laboring men
if our laboring men threatened to come into their country in such
numbers as to jeopardize the well-being of the Chinese population; and
as, mutatis mutandis, these were the conditions with which Chinese
immigration actually brought this people face to face, we had and have a
perfect right, which the Chinese Government in no way contests, to act
as we have acted in the matter of restricting coolie immigration. That
this right exists for each country was explicitly acknowledged in the
last treaty between the two countries. But we must treat the Chinese
student, traveler, and business man in a spirit of the broadest justice
and courtesy if we expect similar treatment to be accorded to our own
people of similar rank who go to China. Much trouble has come during the
past year from the organized boycott against American goods which has
been started in China. The main factor in producing this boycott has
been the resentment felt by the students and business people of China,
by all the Chinese leaders, against the harshness of our law toward
educated Chinamen of the professional and business classes.[14]
A Square Deal
and
Official Corruption
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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