I think I can safely say that 90 per cent of the cases that are refused admission into this country are those of socalled merchants. The term "merchant" as applied to Chinese has an entirely different meaning from what we consider the term to mean. and it is this ignorance of the socalled Chinese merchant class that makes many of our countrymen believe that our exclusion policy should be liberalized so far as this particular class is concerned. Many of the merchants of that race in this country came here as coolies. After having saved a little money they open a little shop and thereafter are classed as merchants. A number of such laborers will frequently put their joint earnings into a common fund and then each man becomes a partner in the concern. his interest being equivalent to the amount that his investment bears to the capital of the partnership.
Identified stereotypes
Chinese merchants are not real merchants and are just former coolies.