“Only the scum of the population do it”

—  Mark Twain , book Roughing It

As quoted in Roughing It http://www.friesian.com/quotes.htm (1872).
Roughing It (1872)
Context: No California gentleman or lady ever abuses or oppresses a Chinaman, under any circumstances, an explanation that seems to be much needed in the east. Only the scum of the population do it; they and their children. They, and, naturally and consistently, the policemen and politicians, likewise, for these are the dust-licking pimps and slaves of the scum, there as well as elsewhere in America.

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American author and humorist 1835–1910

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