Without expressing an opinion on
that point, I may invite the attention of Congress to the fact that
the system of personal registration and passports is undemocratic and
hostile to the spirit of our institutions. I doubt the wisdom of
putting an entering wedge of this kind into our laws. A nation like
the United States, jealous of the liberties of its citizens, may well
hesitate before it incorporates into its polity a system which is fast
disappearing in Europe before the progress of liberal institutions.
A wide experience has shown how futile such precautions are, and how
easily passports may be borrowed, exchanged, or even forged by persons
interested to do so.
If it is, nevertheless, thought that a passport is the most convenient
way for identifying the Chinese entitled to the protection of the
Burlingame treaty, it may still be doubted whether they ought to be
required to register. It is certainly our duty under the Burlingame
treaty to make their stay in the United States, in the operation of
general laws upon them, as nearly like that of our own citizens as we
can consistently with our right to shut out the laborers.
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