io The National Geographic Magazine 



the oriental races, but without many of 

 the virtues. They are the toughest 

 problem that official and private charity 

 has to meet in the communities in which 

 they live. 



CHINESE 



Ever since the beginning of time there 

 has been a constant struggle for assimi- 

 lation between races, in which the ab- 

 sorbent quality of the United States has 

 proven superior to that of every other 

 nation in the world, with the single 

 exception of the Chinese. 



On the other hand, assimilation of 

 the Chinese is impossible. Their fe- 

 cundity and lack of interest in any other 

 civilization but their own, their habits 

 and customs and unwillingness to ac- 

 cept new ideas, offers no material to 

 work on. 



One of our best and clearest thinkers 

 on this question claims that the danger 

 from Chinese immigration is that, if 

 allowed to come here unopposed, they 

 will in time monopolize all industrial 

 occupations, and the American people, 

 both of native and alien descent, will 

 shrink to a superior caste, who would 

 temporarily hold their own in govern- 

 ment, education, and culture, but would 

 finally and hopelessly be displaced as a 

 race, and American labor and American 

 manhood would diminish and fade away 

 before the influx of this inferior and 

 prolific race from the Orient, as in clas- 

 sic times the Latin husbandman van- 

 ished before the endless number of 

 slaves poured into Italy by triumphant 

 generals. 



One of the most interesting questions 

 in connection with the Chinese is their 

 climatic adaptability. While it is be- 

 yond question that the Northern races 

 of Teutonic and Celtic descent are supe- 

 rior economically and militarily over all 

 known races of the earth, in climates 

 different from their own they are un- 

 able to compete with inferior races. 



The Latin races — French, Spanish, 



Italian, and Portuguese — are much more 

 successful in tropical settlements than 

 the English or German ; but the most 

 remarkable adaptability to climatic con- 

 ditions is manifested by the Chinese. 

 They succeed in the far South, where 

 the white man cannot live, and are suc- 

 cessfully working in the North, where 

 the mean temperature is below freezing. 



The trouble with the Chinese is that 

 they are 400 million strong. It is to the 

 interest of the Chinese government to 

 allow them to migrate to foreign lands. 

 The history of Europe shows that the 

 Jews have clung to racial characteristics 

 with the utmost tenacity since they were 

 driven out of Alexandria by Cyril. 

 They have gone from one country to 

 another ; have been oppressed, and have 

 absorbed the best traits of all with whom 

 they came in contact. They have at- 

 tained prominence in the business and 

 financial markets the world over. Wher- 

 ever they have gone they have always 

 remained Jews — true to their religious 

 and racial ideas. While they have been 

 able ,to maintain their racial individ- 

 uality in every other country, whole 

 tribes have gone into China, and in the 

 course of a hundred years have been 

 completely absorbed. 



No foreign influence has ever gone 

 into China that has made the slightest 

 impression on the Chinese race, and 

 while they have been the migrant race of 

 the world, they always remain Chinese. 

 Their history in California, where 10 

 per cent are professional criminals, does 

 not show any special reason for encour- 

 aging more to come. 



OUR IGNORANCE OF THE PEOPLES 

 BLENDING INTO THE "AMERI- 

 CAN" RACE 



For fifty years we have been getting 

 alien emigrants, and most of our people 

 have become accustomed to the sight of 

 foreigners, but as a matter of fact they 

 know very little about them — whence 

 they come, their racial traits or habits. 



