, he's got a temper when it's rousted up."

She said sunthin' about Uncle Sam turnin' her folks out and not
lettin' 'em step their feet on our sile. I couldn't deny it, and it
kinder danted me for a minute how I wuz goin' to smooth that over, but
concluded that as in every other emergency in life, the plain truth
wuz the best, and I sez in a real amiable voice:

"Si Ann, there is two sides to that jest as there is to every national
and neighborhood quarrel. Uncle Sam hain't liked the way your folks
have acted with him, and though I dare presoom to say he's some to
blame, yet I can see where your folks have missed it. They would flock
right over to our place, crowdin' our own folks out of house and home,
and expect Uncle Sam to protect 'em, and then they would jest rake and
scrape all they could offen us and go home to spend their money;
wouldn't even leave one of their bones in our ground. They didn't want
to become citizens of the United States, they seemed to kinder want to
set down and stand up at the same time, which hain't reasonable if it
is done by an American or a Chinee."

She said sunthin' about the masses of other foreigners that Uncle Sam
allowed to crowd into our country.

"Well," sez I, "they're willin' to become citizens, the German and
English and Irish and Russian and Italian babies grow up Americans.
But it wuzn't so with your folks, Si Ann. From the children's little
pig-tails down to their little wooden shues they wuz clear China,
soaked in, dyed in the wool, born so, and as long as their bones hung
together and afterwards, clear China. They kep' themselves jest as fur
from American institutions and beliefs as ile stays away from water
and wouldn't mix any more. Their bodies stayed on our shores whilst
they could make money out of us. But their souls and minds wuz jest as
fur removed from our institutions and constitutions as if they wuz
settin' in Jupiter with their legs hangin' off. It wuz galdin' to
Uncle Sam and finally he had to stop it. But he didn't do it out of
meanness. He jest had to, for of course you know your own folks come
first."

And thinkin' mebby I'd been too hash describin' her folks I went on,
"I spoze mebby that high stun wall of yourn has kinder stiffened and
hardened the nature of your folks and made it harder for 'em to
change. But you're on the right track now, Si Ann, you have begun to
break down that big wall, you've begun to be more neighborly. And
don't you ever cro