Did Henry Ward Beecher Oppose Chinese Exclusion for Humanitarian or Economic Reasons?

Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most famous men in America around the time of the Civil War, was a clergyman, noted orator, and social reformer who championed the abolition of slavery, advocated women's suffrage, and opposed the exclusion of Chinese immigrants.

In an interview in 1880, on the eve of the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, about his views of who was his preferred candidate for U.S. president, he was also asked about his views on the violence and mistreatment of Chinese in the west. While he was outspoken in deploring the efforts to drive Chinese out of California, his position was not entirely idealistic.  He considered the economic impact, arguing that California needed cheap labor and that driving the Chinese out would set the state back 100 years.

When the reporter pointed out that Chinese were moving to the east, Beecher welcomed this development, "... and let them come We want them."

Again, Beecher was not motivated by idealism, arguing that "we need some foreign element like the Chinese among us to do that labor of the more menial kind that we Americans are getting above doing.

Beecher again revealed economic exploitation as his motivation or opposing Chinese exclusion in his conclusion... ç