March 23, 1881

Washington, Capitol.

The weather was not very good, the sky was cloudy, and the occasional sunlight shone through the gaps in the clouds and shone on the white dome in the middle of the Capitol, reflecting a miserable white light.

A cold wind blew, blowing the buds on the tree that had been pulled out and rolled up again.

In the United States in early spring, it was warm and cold at first.

Compared with the cold outside, the House of Representatives inside the Capitol was full of quarrels.

"Mr. Distinguished Speaker, allow me to state my point once again that the time has come for the migration of Chinese workers along the Pacific Coast to the point where it has to be resolved."

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with his hair neatly down to the back, and in his hand, waving a newspaper, showed it to everyone.

"Ten days ago, on March 4, there was a massive mass rally in San Francisco, California. More than 30,000 people gathered inside and outside the venue in anticipation of the passage of this bill! ”

He unfolded the newspaper and read aloud to everyone.

“…… The entire rally was conducted in a peaceful and calm order, and all sectors of society expressed their views sincerely. Whether it is a company or a government agency, it is ...... to suspend work for one day as if it were a statutory holiday."

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

His spit was flying, and his expression was infectious.

"When did Paige's eloquence become so good?"

In a corner seat in the House of Representatives, a younger member of the House of Representatives asked a white-bearded old man beside him, "What do you think about 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 was obviously an old fritter.

He is one of the few 14 non-Democrat or Republican members of the House of Representatives.

The old man's body leaned back in his chair, which would make him more comfortable: "The people who support the bill are mainly the Democrats in the western and southern states, and the Republicans in the central and eastern states who verbally oppose the bill are not willing to offend the labor groups and do such a thankless job." ”

It's all for the votes!

The old man smiled: "Their advantage after the war has been exhausted in the economic crisis of the past few years. ”

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

House Horace Page from California continued his speech:

"On the other side of the continent, they have a population of 400 million, making up a third of the world's population, and that's a huge dark cloud hanging over the virgin lands of the Pacific coast."

He looked around, "I'm sure many of you think the same way as I do, and if you don't control it, her people will swarm like locusts, which is no different from aggression!" ”

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

Paige's voice grew louder and heavier, and his tone became heavier and heavier: "They are philistine, cunning, and will encroach on our resources!" It will cost our workers their jobs......"

"Councillor Page! I don't think it's a glorious thing to accuse a vulnerable group of people with that, and it's inappropriate to make such a statement on an occasion like the House of Representatives. ”

A man in a black suit with a long black beard stood up and walked to the table across from Page.

His eyes were piercing, and his posture was as tall as a pine tree.

The eyes of the crowd followed him, and they also saw a thick report in his hand.

George Hoar, a congressman from Massachusetts.

He held up the stack of reports in his hand and showed them to everyone

This is an 1876 survey report, which clearly states that the Chinese population in the United States is only 10. 50,000 people, and the vast majority of them are adult male laborers, and they do not consume public resources such as education and health care in the United States. ”

Howle paused for a moment and continued.

"Most of the witnesses in the investigation report used the words 'hardworking,' 'quiet,' and 'reliable' to describe the Chinese workers they had come into contact with."

Among them, railway tycoon Klock pointed out that the Chinese do jobs that others are not willing to do; Hollister, the farmer, also said that the Chinese farm workers he hired were invaluable 'agricultural professionals.'" ”

At the same time, he reminded the commission of inquiry to note the outstanding contribution of the Chinese to California's agriculture. Hauer closed the report and glanced at Paige across from him, "As a Californian, you shouldn't be unaware of this, right?" ”

"But the wages they can afford are too low, which greatly squeezes out other people's job opportunities." Paige was a little anxious.

"Ridiculous! Isn't this our own problem? If this alone is based on this, it is untenable to say that the Chinese have robbed the workers of their jobs! Hauer took a breath.

The flesh on Page's face was jumping, but he quickly changed the subject: "I also want to emphasize that those Chinese cannot be assimilated, they have no faith, they have never intended to settle here, and they even send every penny they earn home. ”

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

Hall shook his head: "The Chinese have been severely discriminated against, and if Chinese are not assimilated, it is because they have never been given such rights. Will what happened to them in California make them accept assimilation?"

"The Constitution tells us that every human being should be free and equal, and that should not be changed by the color of their skin or race."

Hauer turned around and faced the majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

"The Republican Party, a Lincoln's party, a party that emancipated black slaves, a party that fought for the human rights of blacks, now supports a bill that is riddled with racist overtones. Are you not ashamed? ”

There was a lot of talk in the parliament again, with accusations, disdain, and silence.

"Hauer 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 only hoped that Hall would step down quickly: "Do you have anything else to say?" ”

Hall nodded to the Speaker:

"I know that maybe my speech today is nothing more than Don Quixote rushing towards a windmill. Still, I think it's better to say it. ”

"This is a fight between the wolf and the sheep, the sheep is the victim, and the wolf is the one who should be changed. The wolves are attacking, the sheep are being punished and slaughtered, are we really going to end this wolf-sheep conflict in this way?"

"That's it, Speaker."

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

He was expressionless and did not look at the others present.

"Okay, let's vote then."

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

Soon after, the bill was put on the table of President Chester Arthur, who argued that skilled labor should not be subject to treaties and that the 20-year period was too long and should be shortened to 10 years.

On May 9, 1882, the President signed the amended Act, which came into effect.

And almost the same day that the bill came into force.

Chen Jianqiu appeared in San Francisco.

This chapter may not necessarily be liked by everyone, and it is not cool, but I really want to write it, let me be willful in a chapter, it does not represent any tendency, and it is only restored according to the information.

(End of chapter)