The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-15
CHINATOWN.
The Reply of the Chinese to Their
AccuSerS.
Colonel Bee to DIR. Meares.

Dr. MedrS' Health Office. SIR: In the
Evening Bulletin of the goth instant you pub
lish over your signature the result of your OBJ
servations made during recent visit to that
portion of our city designated as Chinatown. 1
make no apology in addressing you thus pub
icly; only claim it as a citizens right to criti-
else public officer. You say in the outset
that you "had but one object in view-the pre-
sentation of a truthful account of the present
condition of Chinatown" and following this
declaration you say ''that $50, 900 human be-
ings' THANK y>u for the admission] sat the
lowest calculation, are living in space
bounded, etc. Now, Doctor, if you had in
quired at the Chinese Consulate you could have
learned that there WEIR only % 500 Cinnamon
in the county, including fishermen within ten
miles circuit. Since that census was completed
over 1000 residents have left. If
it viii be pleasure for you to know that you
do not stand alone in giving truthful ac-
count" will state that Congressman Page
wrote President Hayes that there were $4,000
Chinese courtesans plying their vocation here.
In less than twenty-four hours after that letter
was in the hands of the President, 1 sent
statement backed by Custom-house records,
to this:country for thirty years. Again, Doc
tor, you say that you saw things that were
A DISGRACE TO OUR CIVILIZATION.
And that, for fear as guardian of the health
of our city you might be considered derelict if
you did not make known the situation, you
then go on to describe, in detail, what you
saw. As you do not give the streets or num-
bers stranger would at once conclude that
your explorations covered all parts of the Chi
nese quarter, but, upon inquiring of your po-
lice guide, find it is the reserved territory
you went over (the same route our Eastern
visitors are shown over. How vividly you
describe the well-beaten track, to wit, 'The
first place visited by your Committee required
the descent of twolong flights of stairs to reach
it, For full description of this house, the
reader is referred to the report of the Califor-
mia State Senate Committee 1885, Congress
sional Morton Committee. Washington, 1877;
Congressional Wrights Labor Committee,
Washington, 1879. All of these reports give
the same description you do, and just as mi
nutely point to the ''ooze" that comes up
through the cracks of the floor, and you elab-
crate to considerable degree and at length,
point out what an outrage it is that this is thus
and conclusively arrive at the fact that it is
for Want of proper drainage, to remedy which
two years ago, Doctor, we discussed together
bill which you proposed should be passed, CIV
ing you as Health Officer, full and unlimited
power to declare any house
UNFIT FOR HUMAN HABITATroN.
You thought, and agreed with you, that such
law would be all that you would require to
abate any and all nuisances wherever found to
exist. did all L could by writing members to
aid you in the matter. The bill passed lust as
you wanted it, and has been the law of the
land for two years past. That law gave you
powers autocratic. You could, and can now
and could for two years past, condemn every
habitation you so graphically describe over
your signature and remedy every evil you de-
scribe. 1t was your sworn duty to do so. You
did excellent work for the first few months /
made the Chinese acquainted with the law and
the power you had to enforce it, | rendered
my services repeatedly to you and Deputy Coe,
but you met with no opposition. You found
the Chinese willing to aid you. You were
more than successful You saw them in all
quarters painting and whitening the outside,
inside and underside of their stores and domi-
Giles WeJwere encouraged, but 10, YOU ceased
enforcing the law. To show that this Act,
giving you such power, was general and not
aimed alone at the Chinese, you condemn
"Antique CASTLE" corner Sacramento and
Stockton streets, and from that date nothing
more is heard of the "human habitation law.5
had repeated interviews with you, all the
time
URGING ON THE GOOD WORK.
You never failed to say that Chinatown was
never in such admirable condition; that no in
fictitious disease OF any kind was there; that
there were worse places outside of that quar-
ter. These interviews impressed me to the ex-
tent that thought it my duty to inform the
Legation in Washington of this great achieve
ment in sanitary reform. With this idea l
addressed you an official letter, dated Decem
ber 2S, 1878, that you might put your official
signature to the statements you had verbally
made to me. You never answered that letter,
and will inform you that it is the only Off
cial letter ever written by me that remains un-
answered. You, if any one, have been "dere-
ict in duty" and with you alone rests the
blame for the condition in which you
found the ''habitatiQn'' of 1.-TWO flights
of stairs notorety met you few
months since and called your atten-
tion to this very place, and have repeat
edly called Deputy Goes attention to it, and
he has done all he could to remedy this and all
other evils, but not being Chief, nothing has
been done. When that excellent officer was
removed a few weeks since TO make room for a
relative of Wellock's, 1 met you on the street
and told you thought it was wrong to remove
Coe, as he was an excellent officer, and knew
every inch of the Chinese quarter, and it would
take years to break in another. You replied that
YOU REGRETTED
1t had been done, but that Kalloch insisted
upon changes and it was made out OF defer