“Which Race is to Dominate Farm Industry?”

“Which Race is to Dominate Farm Industry?: W.G. McQuarrie, M.P,, A.D. Paterson and Others to Speak Here Wednesday Evening.” 

H. G. MaQuarrie, M.P., A. D. Paterson and Others to Speak Here Wednesday Evening

To the question of which race is going to dominate farming in the Chilliwack Valley in the future is a question that continues to arouse a great deal of interest and many who are are alive to the situation are devoting much time and effort in presenting the question to those interested in farming.

In this connection a meeting is announced for Wednesday evening, December 14^th in the city hall, which will be addressed by W. G. McQuarrie, M.P., A. D. Paterson, M.L.A., and others. The meeting is public and ladies, who should be as much interested as men, will be welcome.

Discussing this important question the other day a prominent local farmer stated the case thusly:
“The Oriental question is one that will have to be dealt with immediately or it will be too late. So far Chilliwack has not felt the evil effect of this invasion. The Minimum Wage Law drove many of them out of the lumber camps into farming and many of them went to Ladner. This year eighty-five per cent of the early potatoes in that district were grown by Chinamen. Ninety-five per cent of the farmers there have signed an agreement not to sell or lease land to them again for five years. These ejected people will come farther up the alley and the rich soils of Chilliwack will naturally attract them. The question is “Do we want them?”

Mr. Challenger of Ladner stated that his school tax this year was $86 more than last year. This extra tax was caused by increase of Oriental children as there was no increase in whites.

H. J. Barber, M.P., states that, in driving down the other side of the river below Mission, be gave a lift to a girl going to school, who on passing a number of Oriental children, told him that there were 54 more Oriental children than white children attending her school. How would you like your little girl to be mingling with Oriental children to that extent? Their standard of morals is absolutely different to yours and that six hours a day contact would offset and upset most of the ideals you have so anxiously instilled into the minds of your children.

Our farmers are more skilful than the Oriental but when, in order to compete, he was to work from dawn until dark and on Sunday he’ll just have to stop farming. Working long hours, however, is not all of it. The Oriental’s idea of marketing is simply to cut prices. When he is a small minority the effect of this is hardly noticed, but he is increasing rapidly. Even if no more are admitted to the province, those that are here will multiply fast enough to cause unlimited trouble. When this price cutting goes far enough an our farmers cannot possibly make an existence the Oriental can still live like a king compared with what he has been brought up to.

At the present time the Oriental dominates the growing and marketing of potatoes. He is rapidly getting control of the small fruit industry. He will not stop at these. The bulk of the milk going into Seattle is produced by Orientals. One of them ships 100 cans a day.

The sooner this question of “Which race is to dominate the farming industry” is settled the easier it will be to handle. The lower end of the Valley is making a stand now, and now is the time for us all to get behind the movement, before we in Chilliwack are worse off than they were.”