Speech #500117307

If they were here before. they were here without any national authority. without any national invitation. That was in 1862. In 1868 they made a treaty throwing wide open the door of Chinese immigration. and bolting and fastening the door open. so that without a violation of the treaty it never could be closed again. In 1870 they were not content with that. There was a little power. they thought. which might be left in the State govermnents. by discouraging Chinese immigration. discriminating between an Irishman and a Chinaman. between a German and a Chinaman. and they were so in love with these Mongolians and so much not in love with our Irish and German friends that they thought it might be that some of the States would undertake to tax one of these Oriental jewels of the Republican party. the Chinaman. a little more than they taxed another immigrant. So they put a provision in the civil rights law. notia a revenue law. but in a civil rights law. intended to put the white people of the South on an equalitywith.the negroI do not know whether they meant to lift us up to the negroes or to put us down. but at any rate it was to put us on an equality with our colored friends socially and every other way. not politically. but sociallythey put in this axing provision. "you shall not tax a Chinaman unless you tax an Irishman or a Frenchman or somebody else to the same amount." Well. the American people got mad at all this wickedness and folly. In 1879 the people. through their Representatives and some of their Senators here. commenced agitating about getting rid of this incubus. A bill was passed mainly by Democratic votes. it was opposed mainly by Republicans. and when the poor laboring people in this country had begun to think that they were in sight of the promised land. when like the poor pilgrim who was in the slough of despond overwhelmed by its waters. they had got a sight of the Delectable Mountains just beyond. when these poor. hardworking people began to think they were about to reach the Delectable.Mountains. and at last these Mongolians would be restrained a little. would be crippled a little. would not be allowed to come in here to take their work from them. the bill passed the House. it passed the Senate. it went up to the other end of the avenue. and it was vetoed by a Republican President. That was discouraging. but the people persisted. they threatened. they were mad. Then in 1882. three years later. after three years more of outrage. three years more of hard competition. three years more of unrewdrdcd and unrequited toil on account of the competition of these men. we passed another bill. mainly by Democratic votes in both Houses. as I showed the other day. and then again the poor laboring people of this country began to think that they would see daylight.