Show I Ii i A CHINESE LABOR QUESTION Aside from his liability to bring leprosy into the country we are not aware that there would be beany beany any particular objection to a t. t moderate immigration of Chin men were it not for the consideration that they would compete with undersell and soon degrade degrade de de- de grade American labor That of course is an insuperable insuperable insuperable in in- objection which Congress h has s not dared and probably never will dare to ignore As far as the continent continental portion of the American Empire is concerned we may regard Chinese exclusion as a perman permanent policy and a a. settled fact I It is a question whether or not the same policy and practice should be applied to our Philippine Philippine- I possessions Conditions are very different in that part of th the national domain There here the white whit man cannot and the native Filipino will not work while the Mongolian can is willing to and according to reports leports from the archipelago is urgently wanted as asan asan as' as asan an agricultural laborer Recently the American Chamber of Commerce at Manila appealed to Congress for the enactment of laws laws' allowing Chinam n to enter the Philippine Islands under tinder such restrictions as the insular government gov gor- might prescribe The appeal states that if admitted would not enter into competition com corn petition with local labor and that their entry is imperatively imperatively im im- im- im needed as the tobacco hemp and sugar lands lands' of the islands are but partly cultivated It would be unnecessary to exclude them on sanitary gro grounds because the Filipinos themselves a variety of leprosy which it would be futile for forthe the Chinese to emulate If it can be made plain that no harm would accrue to white labor by or through the concession perhaps the Government might be justified justified justi justi- fied fled in listening to the plea of the Manila Chamber of Commerce But that point should have careful and deliberate consideration in advance of action |