Daily Kennebec journal., 1878-06-17
The Heather Chinee.

The Heather Chinee.
Of all foreigners who come 10 this country the
Chinese are the most curious and arouse the great
est curiosity. Five years ago there were few
Chinamen in Boston, and when appeared on
the streets he the object of the greatest atten
ton, aud small boys aid girls followed him around
to get look at his peculiar face, long braided
queue hanging down his back, and queerly shaped
shoes or sandals Fosr years ago the first Chi
nese laundry was opened on fremont street BY
four Cnnamen, and this appeared to be the signal
for other, to spring up, and in the course of the
next year there were over twenty established. 1t
does no. cos. much to establish Chinese laundry.
Johnny rents couple OF poor. cheap rooms, buys
a tub aud wash board second hand some soap,
blueng and starch, aud he is ready for business.
Strange to say, their success has been great in the
laundry business, although it is generally admit
ted that the work is not done any better than by
the generality of Irish wash-wsmen; yet Lee
Wah, Hop Sing, Sing Lung, Wah Hop, kee Song,
Chong Wing, Quing Hong and the score of others
rejoicing in like euphonious cognomens are saw
Ing money wherewith TO return TO China and, in
the language of our country "cut dash" there.
The Chinese Iigidly adhere TO inherited forms
and customs, and ndividuals seldom deviatc from
them, even when far away from friends and home
and surrounded by influences which seldom fail
to cause marked change in the habits of foreign
ers They follow very persistently the traditions,
style of dress manner of cooking, and form. of
worship, in fact every custom which has been
handed down TO them for centuries. They are
quick to initiate, and can copy a pattern exactly,
never allowing themselves to make the slightest
alteration or improvement which a native of any
other land will not fail to do in nine cases out of
ten. They sturdy in their resistance of Chris
tian influences, and when in this country take
every opportunity to defy our laws stealing, gam
bling, and committing all crimes known.
AT first their success in the laundry business
was attributed to their novelty among us, their
patrons gaining a chance to sci utnze the curious
faces, and take general glance around the houses
of these strange foreigners. But as time goes on
their patronage seems to increase rather than di.
minsh, and the many colored and white washerwo-
men in our midst have to suffer thereby. They
are especially fond OF the sign California Laun-
dry,""Chinese California Laundry" though why
they use the word California is mystery never
yet explained. A Chinaman will battle the most
inquisitive of reporters, for these tawnv survivor
shippers are always ready to fall back on their
much used phrase mo understaudee" and if
Johnny persists in ''no understandee," how is he
to be made to say any tn ny else But when man
wants to talk business, they are quick enough to
understand every word he says, aud can bargain
and bickcr with the shrewdest Yankee in Boston.
They are quick to learn, and can calculate change
or figure up washing bill in a surprisingly short
space of time. Being inordnately fond of money,
Johnny is exceedingly industrious, and works ear
ly and late They save nearly all they earn, for
their wants are Jew and simple. Changes in the
fashions never disturb The souls of these "Heathen
Chinecs." He sticks in all weathers to his loose
ftock, blue homespun trowsers and clogs, and his
new suits are few and far between. If all the
taors in the country "struck," it would not dis
turb Johnny in the least-he is independent o.
these helps to stylish appearance.
The only prosperity to which the Chinaman con-
tributes is his own Everything he does is based
on the most rigid principles of economy They
subsist chiefly on boiled rice, ard herd together in
the cheapest shelters, and are obvious, apparent
ly to filth and vermin. They seldom forget their
caste, and keep aloof from social commu MON with
people of other nations. If any women have been
brought from China and are secluded in these
lsundries OF in the dens which the Chinese here
call "home," they are kept very carefully hidden
from the gaze of the ious, and have never We,
been seen and yet it is safe to say that there are
women here from China as well as men. The
front room on the ground floor of building or
basement, is hired by Chnaman going into the
laundry business, and the clothes are dried around
the fire, while in the window are hung mysterious
teachest characters which, presume, indicate to
the intia led that clothes be washed and iroped
within. From two to four men are employed in
each laundry, and it is edifying to see the way in
which the clothes are sprukled when dry. The
Mongosns drop their faces into bowls of water,
draw a quantity Of the liquid into their months,
end then with peculiar movement of the tongue
accompanied by strange sound, eject spray
over the linen to be dampened, sprinklng 1t evenly
an / to their satisfaction.
II is argued that though the Cinnamon are in
ddsu Us and frugal, and appear to have plenty of
work, this class OF Immigrants ontIbutes very
little, If any to our growth and prosperity; that
they have not come here to become faithful cti-
zens and make this county their home, but mere
ly to get all they can. and keep all they get, with
the view always to returning to their native land,
there to enjoy prosperity bought with the gold
taken from our country that they care nothing
for our institutions. evsde the laws il possible, and
their social habits are not such as conduce to the