Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1884-02-06
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"LONG STICKS"
Methods OF Chinese Gamblers and Gen
tiemem OF Leisure in New York.

upon the fat of the land?"
"No," said the reporter. "Do you?"
"Yes," replied Mr.. Wong. "When
you go into Chinese grocery store you
think that the commotion and crowd
Indicate great deal Of business pros
perity, don't you?" ..-.,.,..
Eyes"
"Well, it doesn't necessarily, but it
means lourishing gambling business.
There are at present in New York, and
all within one block in Chinatown, Just
3OO of the most civilized Cinnamon on
earth, who accomplish more work than
their American brethren would give
them credit for They are gentlemen
of leisure, seemingly, but they are max
ing money, and enjoy life better tfan
any of the working Cinnamon
who day and night swing their polish
ing irons all over the city. This class
is called by the Chinese Kwong Queens,
or Long Sticks, because they own moth
ing and yet possess wealth. They may
be found by the scores in Chinatown,
every day, either smoking opium or
chatting in any of the grocery stores or
various shops. They pay eXolbitant
prices to the storekeepcrS for the privi-
lege of lodging and occasionally eating
among them, and thus pass themselves
off on strangers as attaches of the
place. These gentlemen never retire
until or o'clock in the morning, and
they rise at about the same hour in the
afternoon. They live and dress in the
prevailing Chinese style.
About 20 or 80 of these Chinese
dudes are gamblers, ald each owns
small American safe, and in these are
tens of thousands of dollars in ready
money. These are the me1 who run
the Fan Ton shops or gambling houses
of Mott street. The attaches of these
20 or 30 Fan Ton bosses, or gamblers,
constitute the main portion of the
Chinese dudes. They are generally
shrewd, smart men, who consider
manual labor of any kind a degradation
and a sin. They do not live quite so
luxuriously as the Fan Ton bosses, but
still their clothes are imported from
Canton, and they eat good food. These
attaches are divided into four classes
DO Shos,' Md Wens,' Han Tons, ana
tom Sans
The DO Shos' play openly and d-
rectly against the bank, and they are
generally gamblers from China of ex-
pericnce and skill. Many of then
come from China with only few hun
dred dollars and 60 back again in few
months with thousands. Notwith-
standing they are opposed to the Fan
Ton men, these latter rcpose the ut
most confidence in them in regard to
money matters | have frequently
known Do Sho to run short Of cash
while gaming at the table, and have
seen the dealer take his word for
amounts as high as $1,000. When he
wins he either pays it back on the
! spot or sends it to the dealer by a ser.
want the next day. The Md Wens, or
loafers, are generally habitual opium
smokers, who gamble only when they
can get hold of little money, and are
generally broke about $50 days in the
year. The Han Tons are 'stearers,'
who stand outside Of the Fan Ton tlens
every afternoon and evening, calling to
the Chinese passer-by: Tan Ia ia chi
Lar or The Fan Ton within Go and
make your fortunep They are paid
by the Fan Ton bosses about s. per
week, with q percentage on all the
suckers they seduce inside, and occa.
sionally winner gives him dollar or
two. The Ton San, interpreted into
English, means Pull coat-tail fellow
These are the poor hangers-on, who
look like Pekin beggars. They can be
seen at all hours crouching against the
gaming table. They watch the game
: closely, and are invariably the first to
know which way the game goes and to
announce the winners. They also
play for beginners and those who are
green in the business, aud the Pull
coat-tail fellow gets small commits
sion when his client wins. There you
have the 200 or 800 Chinese dudes or
gentlemen of leisure accounted for"
"But where does the money come
from that keeps the bank running
proGtably AMI allowsth Do Sho to take
thousands of dollars back to China?"
From the stupid green laundrymen
and the 200 or 800 Chinese sailors and
cigarma';ers. Many of these make
handsome salaries and large profits an.
nually and then lose all their winnings
in the Fan Ton shops, Any one who
doesn't believe me can SEQ for himself.
Just let him go to any Of the store-lii5e
houses from No. to No. 20 Mott street
dhe will find no goods or merchandise
but n lot of tables and stools and
crowd of Cinnamon from noon to mid,
night. The observer can guess what
it means. A young Chinaman has re-
Gently started n society to influence
Chinese yluthS nroinct Mott s+reet'a