书城外语美国公民读本(彩色英文版+中文翻译阅读)
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第71章 谁统治我们(7)

35.Now we see how it is that there are so many black people in the southern states.The masses of them are ignorant,and many are idle and shiftless.Still,they work in the fields and in the homes,and so are very useful.It is highly important that they should learn to be industrious and honest and capable of earning a good living by good work.Much is being done in the South to teach the blacks.There are common schools in which they learn to read and write and get some other knowledge.And there are industrial schools which teach them how to work properly at various trades.

NEGROES WORKING IN A COTTON FIELD

36.As the negroes are here,and are now free citizens of the republic,it certainly is important that they should become good citizens.

37.The School at Tuskegee.We have read about one school which is doing good work in educating negroes and Indians to be good citizens.Another of similar aim is at Tuskegee,Alabama,and is training many of the colored people.The most important purposes of the school are thus stated in the catalogue:

“In all the Industrial work these objects are kept in view,viz.:

“1.To teach the dignity of labor.

“2.To teach the students how to work,giving them a trade whenthought best.

“3.To enable students to pay a portion of their expenses in labor.”

This is very sensible.The negroes in the southern states need,first of all,to learn steady industry,honesty,cleanliness of life and surroundings,and independent selfsupport.No one who fails in these respects can be respected by his neighbors or can really respect himself.

38.Yellow PeopleChinese.West of the Rocky Mountains there are many yellow peoplethe Chinese.Some of them live in eastern cities,often carrying on laundries.Generally they keep more or less of the dress of Chinese,and with their yellow skins,oblique eyes,long black “pig tails,”and odd shoes and blouse,may be seen tripping along the crowded streets or busily ironing clothes in the laundry.But on the Pacific coast there are many thousands of themso many that there is a part of San Francisco called the “Chinese quarter,”in which the yellow people live in a crowded mass by themselves.Some are merchants and laundrymen;some are house servants,doing the work for which women are employed in most families;many are laborers,working in all manner of rough occupations.

39.One odd thing about them is that there are very few women among them.The men come here to get rich.They live on very little,lodging and eating as few white people would be willing to do.In this way they save up their money,expecting some day to go home to China to live.If one of them dies,the others try to send his body back to China for burial.

4o.The European laborers do not like the Chinese.They say that the Asiatics are not good Americans;that they do not come here to live,and do not know or care anything about the republic;that they live as no American can,and so are able to work for wages which would not keep an American family ;that in the end back they go to China,carrying their savings with them.Congress has made laws,therefore,forbidding any more Chinese laborers to come here.It cannot be many years,under these laws,before the Chinese laborers will disappear from our republic.There are not many of them now.In 1860there were 34,933;in 1870,63,199;in 1880,105,465;in 1890,107,475.So we see howrapidly their numbers increased until the laws forbade their coming.

Who Are Our Rulers

1.The LawMakers.We have seen that our republic has a greatnumber of public officers.

To begin with,there are all the lawmaking bodies.At Washington is the federal congress,meeting every year for months at ,a time,and making laws for the nation.At each of the fortyfive state capitals is a legislature,meeting either every year or every other year,and making laws for the state.Several territories have legislatures.At each county seat is some sort of county board,many of them meeting more than once in a year,and making laws for the county.Then,every city has its council,and in many states the village has a village board,meeting weekly,as a rule,and making laws for the city or the village.

2.Many sorts of laws are made.Some of them forbid certain things to be donelike the law against stealing.Other laws command something to be donelike the law which compels people to be vaccinated,so as to avoid smallpox.Many laws,in nation,state,county,and city,are tax laws;that is,they fix the amount and the kind of taxes which the people shall pay into the public treasury.Many more laws decide how this money shall be spent.Part of it goes for the salaries of public officers;part for public buildings,like courthouses,prisons,schools,and postoffices;part of it for public services,like paving streets,carrying the mails,providing fireengines.And there are many other kinds of laws.

3.Now,how are all these lawmakers appointed?In almost every case they are elected by the people.The United States senators,to be sure,are chosen by the state legislatures,But the people elect the members of the legislatures.And the people elect the members of the national house of representatives,of the state legislatures,of the various county boards,and of the city councils.So we may say that in the end the people elect all the lawmakers .

4.The Administrative Officers.Then,there are many officers busy in carrying out the laws.First of all,of course,is the president of the United States.Under his authority are his cabinet,the eight heads of departments,with the great number of officials under each,some in Washington,and many soldiers,postmasters and clerks,customs officers,and the like,scattered over the Union.Altogether there are nearly two hundred thousand federal officers subject to the direction of the presidentquite an army,we see.