Speech #570042157

I suppose. about 1871 or 1872. I can not give the date). who was afterwards an eminent member of this body and. as is well known. minister to Germany. and called his attention to it. I told him I would gladly unite in measures which should be as effective and stringent as human wit could contrive to keep out everything of the evil of which his people were beginning to complain. that I would agree to station at one port or two ports or five ports in Asia public agentspublic agents who should examine man by man. witness by witnessagents who could not be imposed upon and who could not be flattered and who could not be bribed. and provide that no immigrant should come td this country from China except such as came from that limited number of ports and such as had passed this scrutiny of our public agencies. If the time for such an examination would not allow examining thoroughly and faithfully every man who wanted to come. that was the misfortune of the situation. and it was necessary for the protection and security and quality of American citizenship. But it was no violation of our principles. I was willing. then. that no man should come as an immigrant who could not read or write the English language. if that were desirable. that no man should come as an immigrant who did not bring his wife with him. if he were married. and his children with him. if lie were a father. that no man should come as an immigrant whose moral qualities and capacity to earn his living in some respectable employment were not ascertained. that no man should come as an immigrant who did not mean to stay here and die here and be buried here and renounce all his allegiance to every other country whatever. and that no man should come as an immigrant who was not permeated with the spirit of American citizenship. But some of our friends on the Pacific coast did not care much about ideals. though I have no doubt they were as thoroughly attached in principle to the doctrines on which this Republic was founded as I was. but in their anxiety and alarm they could not wait patiently to get at thi evil. So. in the first place. they broke a treaty. and in the next place they contradicted the doctrines which the fathers had declared. and although I suppose my friend the Senator from Nevada. as I do. considers Mr.