Speech #500116160

That is the door which the Senators are so anxious to close. they having opened it and having bound the Government in a solemn treaty not to close it. That was the first treaty on the subject. These Mongolians. these people whom I have heard Senators on the other side of the Chamber say were not homogeneous with our people. but were alien in race and in religion. flocked over here. and came by the thousands. Theycrowded the honest American laborer. they made it hard. by their competition. for him to live. and there was complaint. There was complaint in 1879. before the other treaty was made. and an effort was made to correct it. Now. let us see how that effort was made. Who made itwho were the menwhat party undertook to close the door which had just been made by the treaty of 1868 for the admission of these Chinese? I read from proceedings in the House of Representatives January 28. 1879. on a bill to restrict Chinese immigration. The "yeas " on that bill were 101 Democrats. 51 Republicans. "nays" 16 Democrats. 56 Republicans. So the number of Democrats who voted for the bill were double that of Republicans. and the vote against the bill consisted of three times as many Republicans as Democrats.