America 1881: They Call Me Legend

Chapter 256 A Bill

March 23, 1881

Washington, Capitol Building.

The weather was not very good. There were dense clouds in the sky. Occasionally, the sun would shine through the gaps in the clouds and shine on the white dome in the middle of the Capitol Building, reflecting a pale light.

A cold wind blew by, causing the buds on the trees to roll up again.

In early spring in the United States, it is suddenly warm and then cold.

Compared with the cold outside, inside the House of Representatives of the Capitol, the quarrel was in full swing.

"Dear Mr. Speaker, please allow me to state my point of view again. The issue of Chinese labor immigration on the Pacific Coast has reached a time when it must be resolved."

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with his hair neatly falling back. In his hand, he waved a newspaper and showed it to everyone.

"More than ten days ago, on March 4, a large-scale mass rally took place in San Francisco, California. More than 30,000 people gathered inside and outside the venue. They are looking forward to the passage of this bill!"

He unfolded the newspaper and read to everyone what was recorded in the newspaper.

"...The entire rally was conducted in a peaceful and calm order, and all classes of society sincerely expressed their views. Both businesses and government agencies suspended work for one day, just like observing a legal holiday..."

"This is the voice of the people, and we should choose to listen!"

His spittle flew everywhere and his expression was extremely contagious.

"When did Page become so eloquent?"

In a corner seat of the House of Representatives, a younger congressman asked an old man with a white beard next to him, "What do you think of this?"

"I guess there is no suspense. The Senate voted to pass this bill a few days ago." The old man with the white beard is obviously an old man.

He is one of the few 14 members of the House of Representatives who is not a Democratic or Republican member of the House of Representatives.

The old man leaned back on the chair, which would make him more comfortable: "Those who support the bill are mainly Democrats in the western and southern states, while those Republicans in the central and eastern states who verbally oppose the bill are not willing to

Offend labor groups and do such a thankless job."

It’s all about votes!

The old man smiled: "Their advantages after the war have been exhausted in the economic crisis in the past few years."

"So, we can only see if anyone is willing to say something with conscience."

Representative Horace Page from California continued his speech:

"On the other side of the continent, they have a population of 400 million, making up one-third of the global population. This is a huge cloud hanging over the virgin land of the Pacific coast."

He looked around: "I believe that many of you have the same view as me. If it is not controlled, her people will swarm like locusts. This is no different from invasion!"

There was a lot of chatter in the House of Representatives, and the members began to discuss something with each other. Obviously, most of them agreed with him.

Page's voice became louder and louder, and his tone became more serious: "They are philistines, cunning, and will invade our resources! They will make our workers lose their jobs..."

"Congressman Page! This is an inflammatory accusation. I don't think it is a honorable thing to accuse a vulnerable group. This kind of speech is inappropriate in an occasion like the House of Representatives.

.”

A man wearing a black suit and a long black beard stood up and walked to the table opposite Page.

His eyes were piercing and his figure was as tall and straight as a pine tree.

Everyone followed him and saw a thick report in his hand.

George Hoar, a congressman from Massachusetts.

He raised the stack of reports in his hand and showed it to everyone

"This is an 1876 survey report. The report clearly stated that the Chinese population in the United States was only 105,000, and the vast majority of them were adult male laborers. They did not consume public services such as education and medical care in the United States.

resource."

Hao paused for a moment and continued.

“Most of the witnesses in the investigation report used words like ‘hardworking’, ‘quiet’, and ‘reliable’ to describe the Chinese workers they had come into contact with.”

“Railway tycoon Kroc pointed out that the Chinese do jobs that others are unwilling to do; farmer Hollister also said that the Chinese farm workers he hired were rare ‘agricultural professionals’.”

"At the same time, he also reminded the investigative committee to pay attention to the outstanding contributions of the Chinese to California's agriculture." Hall closed the report and glanced at Page across from him, "As a Californian, you shouldn't be unaware of this.

"

"But the salary they can accept is too low, which greatly excludes other people's job opportunities." Page was a little anxious.

"Absurd! Isn't this our own problem? If based on this alone, it is untenable to say that the Chinese have taken away the workers' jobs!" Howl took a breath.

The flesh on Page's face was beating, but he quickly changed the subject: "I would also like to emphasize that those Chinese cannot be assimilated. They have no faith and have never planned to settle here. They even spend every dollar they earn.

Every penny is sent home."

"They are here to plunder wealth." Page emphasized the word "plunder".

Hall shook his head: "The Chinese have been severely discriminated against. If the Chinese cannot be assimilated, it is because they have never been given such rights. Can their experience in California allow them to accept assimilation?"

"The Constitution tells us that everyone should be free and equal, and this should not change because of skin color or race."

Hall turned to face the majority of House Republicans.

"The Republican Party, as the party of Lincoln, the party that emancipated the slaves, and the party that fought for the human rights of black people, now supports a bill full of racist overtones. Aren't you ashamed?"

There was a lot of discussion in the parliament again, some were accusing, some were disdainful, and some were silent.

"Howl is crazy." The young man whispered to the old man beside him.

The old man sighed.

"Quiet!" the Speaker of the House of Representatives spoke. He was a little tired of the atmosphere of today's meeting and just hoped that Hall would step down quickly: "Do you have anything else to say?"

Hall nodded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives:

"I know that maybe my speech today is just like Don Quixote rushing towards the windmill. However, I think I still have to say it."

"This is a fight between wolves and sheep. The sheep are the victims, and the wolves are the ones who should be changed. The wolves have been attacking, and the sheep have been punished and slaughtered. We really need to use this method to end this

A conflict between wolves and sheep?”

"That's it, Speaker of the House of Representatives."

Howl picked up the report on the table and walked to his seat.

His face was expressionless and he did not look at the other people present.

"Okay, let's take a vote."

In the final result, the House of Representatives passed the bill with 167 votes in favor (66 votes against).

Soon after, the bill was placed on the desk of President Chester Arthur, who believed that skilled labor should not be subject to the treaty and that the 20-year validity period was too long and should be shortened to ten years.

On May 9, 1882, the president signed the revised bill, which officially came into effect.

And it was almost the same day the bill came into effect.

Chen Jianqiu appeared in San Francisco.

You may not necessarily like to read this chapter, and you may not be happy with it, but I really want to write it, so let me do whatever I want. It does not represent any inclination, it is just based on the data.

(End of chapter)