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Show Organized Celestial Crime. K iferm flcKcnio 07eor Omwi Interviewed on Chinese Vice. IS CtiW UllttUt llhlch Sttpojooo A Day and Smuggling Schemes Ifhteh llnnr I S Fortnnes-Vhe Chinese Millionaires of San Francisco and the Rich Six Com X taii-tns.ooojxo Sent lo China-f;SfioOfiOO Owned by Chinaman lu Sail Ml. Fraeisco-What the Six Companies Are and Htm They Rnle the Celestials- Si Their Defiance of Uuiand Their encouragement of Chlnete Slavery- The Iff High Hinders and Some of Their Recent Maiden- llou Chinamen An Ymk Smuggled Into the United States and a Look at the rtmm Doctor, Ijs I lH Talttong Fat, the Millionaire, and His Organization A Talk tilth the Hon. John C. Quiim, United States Internal Reunite Commissioner at San PSH Francisco, on Our ehntrltan Chinese. HHE tyfrtdi CorrnpPnJtnct 9 M News. HE San Trascisco, May 94, iSgj-Onc of H the most Interesting men In the United H Slates at the present time Is the Hon. 'H John C. Qulnn, the United Sutes eollec- S tor of Internal rev enue for the southern JHJ district of California. He Is the man BR who has teen making the fight In Call- El Ifornla for the restilctlon of Chinese 'H mmlgratlon and who, had Secretary Carlisle not w lihdrawn the pro Islon Ui.it flt the Chinese must relglster themselves Hit by photograph, would by this lime have JpjK practically stopped the Immense amount jK of tniuggliiiE v. hlch Is continually coins H no by the organised Chinese of America. H l'robably no man In California knows as IBH much about the Chinese as Mr. Qulnn, JM and certainly no one heretofore Ins had luBJi the nerve to enter Into a day and night :SK fight with them for the preservation of i H the American laus, 'K I had a long chat with him the other BpjR day about these people and the wonder- Sjpjr ful power that they hold on the Pacific !H slope. Said he: JBB "The people east of the Rocky moun- HH tains do not understand the Chinese HjB question cs it exists here. This Is the flJH battle ground of the races of the Occl- pjpt dent and the Orient, and Sin Francisco jSJH Is tlie head of the government of the SSHR Chinese of America. It Is here that OH their rulers live and It Is here that they &pjt look for law and punishment. They JHJ hive no respect tor American laws and jB they do as their Chinese rulers dictate. Jffi. They are by no mcanrj a poor people. flBju Klght here in San Francisco the Chlneso nSH own property which is worth more than iJB f73,,ooo, and ol the ready cash In J9B circulation on the Pacific coast they con- 9HF 'ol at least 15,000,003. They furnish (MB more than one third of all tho labor we IbW use, and they have so woven themselves ssssl . In and out through our Industries that c nro almost dependent upon them. When the Geaty act compelling the Chinese to register themselves .was passed pass-ed It was my duty to enforce the provls-ions provls-ions or Hie bill. Ifw that wo hid to keep the Chinese that were now I etc, for u time at least, and at the same time keep out the hundreds of thousands pf coolies who were trlng to K t In. As soon ns tho net was published n cry went up from the sand lots, or the hoodlum hood-lum element, lint the Chinese must go At the same time there came word hum thevlncjarils and fruitgrowing districts of California that tho wholisjle deportation depor-tation of them ould ruin all such Indus-tries. Indus-tries. Tho result was the problem how to keep out tho coolies and keep In the present laborers." TIIK CII1M.SE AS FRUIT GROWKK8. "I should think that you could have gotten outside laborers lor- the vine-yards," vine-yards," said I. The thing has been tried," replied Mr. Qulnn, "but no workers seem to be ns good as the Chinamen. Down In Fresno not long ago three thousand negro men and women were brought from Tcnncssi e and Alabama to work in the vlneards there. Tho Chinese were discharged and the negroes put In their places. In less than n month there was not a negro able lo work, and the raisin growers having lost thousands of dollars, fell back again on the Chinese. The picking of grapes In California Is by no means an easy Job. The sub-irrigation of the soil and the hot sun, which runs as high r loj degrees in the shade, makes the work so terrible that only coolies can stand it, and it wilted the negroes. It is the mmo In the orchards. Train loads of bojs and girls were scut to the country to take the place of Chinese fruit pickers, and In tiro weeks the orchardisls had houses full of sick children and the Chinese again at work among their trees. On the deserts In southern California Cali-fornia and Arizona the railroads have to use Chinamen ns section hnnds, as white men cannot stand the terrible summer sun. The Chinese know that there is n certain class of woik hero that they alone can doL They are not fools and they ask and get as high wages as white laborers." HOW THE AtlGRICAN UIINKJI ARK ItCI.kl). "Whit are the Six Companies, Mr. Qulnn?" I asked. "The Six Companies," was the reply, "constitutes the most wonderful organisation organi-sation 1 have ever heard of. It rules the destinies of every Chinese in America with an iron hand. It has defied for jearj and Is now openly defying the united Mates government During this present trouble it raised f IJJ.oco In con tnbuilons of one dollar each from the Chinese in less thin thirty di)S, and this money was asked for and given with the understanding tint it was to be used to defeat tho operations of the Geary law." ' When were tho Six Companies formed," form-ed," I asked. "No while man knows," mi the reply "And I doubt whether very miny Ciilnesc rould tell) on. You can't lind the records of thu companies and no one but their presidents and secretaries know w litre the)' arc. Their books nre kept in a cypher which can be read only by themselves and all their work is done 111 bccrct. Tho Chinese In America, you know, come from six dlUcrcnt districts of Chun. Tlicy arc in reality six differ cut people, hating no moic points in common than the dlflerent Indian tribes. I am told that the Six Companies u etc o-ganlied at first to entry on the busl-n. busl-n. m between the different triues of ( hlnese in tills country to settlo Ibiir deputes without recourse to the courts, punish the offenders, take care of the -I'A, and nboo all, scud bones of the Chinese who died InAmeiUa back to Clunt. This they do today, but they have grown from a small organization to a great power and great wealth. 'Ihoyhnvr the power of life and death over the Chinamen here. Were I lo tell you thai the blx Companies hive scritin-ced scritin-ced not one but twenty men to death, and that the sentence In every case has been executed, I would tell ou only what such men asC, II. Ilarton. a newspaper news-paper reporter who has made work among the Chinese a specialty for ten vcirj, his time and again published over his own signature " UII.UOM FOR CHINA. "How do these Six Companies stand In China?" "They nre recognised by the Chinese government as the real lower of that empire in this country. The Chincsn consul general Is nn ex ofiiclo member of their executive commlttte and counsels coun-sels with their president. These companies com-panies hav c for years taken chnrge of the monevs of the Chinese of the Pacific slope from Alaska to Guatemila and of the United Mates, nnd they have instantly in-stantly on deposit 1111 enormous amount of money here. 1 heir dctwslts In the banks of San l'ranclsco often run up as hlch as three millions ot gold coin, nnd within the last forty )cars they havo shipped out of tills country to China thu enormous sum of f 335,000,000 In gold. T his money was made up of the -swings of Chinese laborers and die profits of Chinese merchants, and If today tlm Chinese were sent out of the United States they would carry away with them more than f jo.ouo,ouo of money. My figures for these sums ore rrom tho banking bank-ing houses or San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and from the olficcs ol the Six Companies. They nro nn under estimate rattier than an over estimate." OKOVNIIED CRIMB IN SAN I RANCISCO. "How do these companies work?" I asked. , 'They do their work openly ton great extent,1' replied Mr. Quinn "They net ns a court for the Chinese, and the Celestials Celes-tials come hundreds ot miles here to San Francisco to have the presidents of these companies settle Minr troubles. There Is no appeal from them. The Chinamen who refuse to o icy them will certainly 'disappear,' nnd no ono but thu Six Companies will know what has become of litem. As to their business there Is no doubt hut the) have been engaged for years In smuggling opium, the importing of Chinese women for immoral purposes and tlie importing of Chlneso laborers In dcfiam.0 of the cxclu'lon net. It Is estimated thit a handsome Chlneso girl of twelve to fourteen years of age is worth whin landed In San Francisco clear of the customs oilicers tyjoo. White men ore hired to pcrjuro theinsclvis in swearing that these girls were born in America, return to China for nn education and then come homo again. Hundreds of women have been brought In this way nnd tlie Six Companies pay the perjurers and hire the lawyers tudcfi 11 1 tlie eases. The reporter Ilarton, to uioni 1 have already reftt red, ran ti white men tu llie earth about six inoiuhi ,io. They had Just landed nClilniie v,in .iirrd only tell years, Tho l.un were ,. vtcd mid the girl was found at .1 direpulablu place w hero she had been taken Immediately Immedi-ately after being landed. I he perjurers and the girl were bailed outol Jail hy money furnished by the blx Companies and n liwyer was paid by the sime organization. It Is estimated that it cost the companies between live and six thousand dollars to land this girl and the companies stick to their own people to the last, they spare no expense to accomplish their ends and they are honest in curving out the most Immoral of their contracls." TIIK ORKAT CIIINCSr. LOTTLRV. "How about the Chinese lottcrv?" I asked. "This is one of the greatest sources of revenue fur the companies. They run lotteries In every city nnd town In the United Slates, Canada, Mexico, llritlsh America and Alaska. The lottery Is honest ns far as the drawing is concerned, concern-ed, It Is n Chinese affair nnd a mm can win If he happens lo mark the right number of spots on Ills ticket, ten thousand dollars for the first payment of twcnt)-fivu cents. A drawing Is held twice n day, morning and evening, nnd It is estimated Hint the Six Companies make J 10, 000 a day out of it. This lottery is corrupting San Francisco. The whites ns well as tlie Chinese cnagc In it. The police have tried to break it up and both the city nnd stito have passed : laws against It, but It does a greater business today thin ever " SOU llrllINO AUOUT THS IIIOIIUIND8RS. "Suppose a Chinaman refuses to obey the Six Companies, Mr. Qulnn," said I. "What happens thin?" "In the first place he Is ostracised," was the reply. vNt begins tho persecution perse-cution that will ruin his business if he is n merchant, or cost him Ins place If he Is n laborer. All help In time of sickness sick-ness or financial trcubtewllt be denied him, and fourth, his bones wilt have to He after his death In alien soil Instead of being boiled, cleincd, scraped nnd polished and sent Inck to China. Tills means disbarment from the heaven ol Confucius forever. So much for lawful persecution. If his crime of disobcdl rnre is Important enough It may causa his death, nnd this will be brought about hy tlie highbinder societies of tlie Chinese, or the Tongs, ns they nre called, The Six Compinlrs claim that they hav e no connection w till the Tongs, bul not long ago when two of Ihckc societies weru engaged In A murderous war upon each other ami the Chinese consul general and the Chinese merchants mer-chants joined with the police to try to stop their murders, the Six Companies rcluscd to do a thing or give n dollar to hinder tlie crime or to punish the guilty KILI.KUIOR oncviNciTiin law. "What are thu highbinders?" I asked. "The Chinese highbinders," was the reply. "Is n Chimman who never works, but lives olT of the earnings ol bad women and the proceeds of blackmail. He doesn't need to have n man's secret to threaten him, but he lias mrr .v to go to I1I111 and say, 'Unle-is 1011 pay the highbinder society $sno ir more, as tlie casemny be, before Siturda) night, we will l.lll sou.' There Is no half wnv measure about it, nnd should the in r clunt thus blackmailed cause the higu binder's arrest li a doom is sealed. T he highbinder cares nothing for tlie law. Clothing hlmscll with a coat of n.all niado cither of fine steel chains or of twenty or thirty thhkne-sscs of newspaper news-paper muTtcd together and made Into a girmcnt that covers the entire bodt trout the throat to the thlghJ, he arms himself wltli a long-barreled revolver and knlfa and goes Into the streets and waits for the man he is to kill. When the man comes along he begins Ins work, regardless of the presence of the police, and he finishes it, though hem ty know ho Is to lung for It ihe next day. This sounds huirib.i, hut such things h ivc been ilonu in San I rancisco, and will,l doubt not, bu dono again. Only a few wicks ago one of these men named Lcc Sing killed n Chinaman mined YiL with three policemen Insight of him He had drawn tho black beau of the society, which scntenceil him to kill this man Yik, and he killed him. There were four men killed by the hlgh-blndirs hlgh-blndirs at this time. Ihcy were killed because they hid reghtcicd thitmelves and hid urged oilier Chinamen to do the same In other words, to obey the laws uf the United Stales. The highbinder high-binder society held n meeting and drew lots as to who should kill tlie men, nnd they were all killed according to tlie drawing. Do ou wonder that the Chinese nre afmid to fight their own people rather than the laws of thu United Stales? I havo had opposition uf this kind to contend with ever since I have been In ollice out here. I have promised to protect theChlnimcn who havo nbej ed tho hws; but what can ) ou do? It Is nn outrage, but how can you help It? You havo to fight organized crlmo nnd organized money," "I suppose ihe Chinese of this city arc very wealthy?" "Yes; there nre nt least twenty millionaires among them, and the 37.000 Chinese of Sin Francisco have their hinds 011 all the Chinese money in Ihe United Slitcs. As to rich men, lake, for instance, Wong Fat, one ol the twenty Chinese millionaires of San Francisco. He owns a little store on Dupont street and tlie room he occupies is only twenty by fifty, but he has branches In every town in southern California and he has establishments in Denver, Silt l-akc, KamasCily, Omaha, .St. I.unls, Chicago, .Minneapolis, St. Paul, Indlinapolls nnd New York, Ills branches In these other towns havo smaller branches radiating over tlie whole country, and ho gets reports from tvery one of them. Hie Chinese in New York nnd Washington re-port to the Six Companies hero just the same ns the nun who lives n lew doors away from the company's cilices. Wong Fat himself controls more than 3,000 laborers and the most of these have been smuggled Into this country. It costs n Chinaman (too to bo smuggled into the United States, and hcp.ivs this money over to the Six Companies out of his wages. He Is landed nnd rented out by the companies tu one of these rich Chlnimcn, Wong Fat, for Instance, nt 30 a month Wong Fat rercnts him nt f jo a month to some one else and uf the money ho cams the liborer gets only Irom six to eight doll its n month till the f 600 duethe Six Companies Is pild. If he Is sick, however, he Is taken care of, and If he dies his bones aic sent to China. TIIK MISTAKK AS TO rilOTOClRArilS. "I think that the greatest mistake tint his been made In the Geary act v. as the remov Ingot the prov islon requiring requir-ing photngrnphs. A Chinaman will malm himsctl in anyway 111 order to fit any description needed, nnd one of the most skillful Chinese doctors In the United States was cmplovcd to help nlong the smuggling, 1 his was Dr. La Po T nl, who had a practice of something llkoflnoooou car, about line third of vvhleli he got Irom white people l.a Po Tai nude mole, scars nnd Inlrlips to hold his countri men In tills country He died only 11 few weeks ago and he was burled with great honor. The photographs, however, belt the China men. Ilelng of nearly the same height and looking much the same thry can tnike themselves correspond to other men's passports, but they could not mikethentselvcs look like other men's photograjihs, The smuggling of them nets thu Chinese large fortunes every car, and I don't wonder tint they fought tlie tiw. What I have said to sou is nothing In comparison with what 1 might siy. Tlie whole situation Is nn outrage upun America and American civilization " Frank G Cari'bntisr. |
