Speech #570041775

Mr. President. the immigration to this country from 1890 to 1900 was considerably in excess of 3.000.000 people. Last year 487.018 came from foreign countries. They were literally of all classes and conditions. The Senator from Indiana said that for the most part they were desirable. Surely the Senator has not visited Ellis Island or witnessed the motley crowd at Castle Garden. Many of them are ignorant. vicious. and undesirable in every respect. but we admit them. and I say that we ought to have infinitely more stringent laws on the subject of immigration. It was a great regret to me that the bill on the question of immigration. which you. Mr. President introduced. and which was passed through the Senate. failed in another body. and it is equally regrettable to me that having refused to enact that bill into law a certain other bill came to the Senate yesterday from the same body on the subject of Chinese exclusion. And while we allow nearly half a million of emigrants to come into our ports in a single year. we hold up our hands in horror at the 89.000 Chinese now in this country. and while we talk of Christianizing them and extending our trade among them it is proposed to passthis harsh. unnecessary. and cruel statute. Well did a distinguished gentleman in another place say a few days agoChina was civilized for centuries while we were wandering Huns and Goths in the forests of Europe and wild men on the heather of Scotland and Ireland. *1. China can teach us much out of her past history and much of her great sciences that were known to her before we were ever heard of.