prostitution helped pass the chines exclusion act

These are causes for the Chinese Exclusion act, however another reason in particular that stands out for me and this would be the prostitution in contrast with public health /safety. These Chinese prostitutes who operated in the downtown San Francisco area (China town district), were often brought overseas by their own people, whom were infected with syphilis that was almost impossible to cure. Testifying before the congressional committee investigating conditions in Chinatown in 1877, Dr. H. H. Toland, a member of the Board of Health, reported that nine-tenths of the venereal diseases in San Francisco could be traced directly to Chinese prostitutes. In his testimony, Dr. Toland stated, “The women do not care how old the boys are, so long as they have the money […] some of the worst cases of syphilis I have ever seen in my life occurred in children not more than 10 or 12 years old.” He condemns the Chinese as “the source of the most terrible pollution of the blood of the younger and rising generations”. Along with poor hygienic practices, the culture of the Chinese in their acceptance, and furthermore, their endorsement of prostitution in our country is contrary to the type of society in which was desired to progress towards. These prostitutes brought over by the Chinamen were disastrous to the community as a whole , spreading not only disease, but also polluting young children with ideas of promiscuity. Keeping this type of population around, instead of getting rid of them and advancing civilization, would be crime.