, 1885-09-27


''Thirty-six years ago. when | first
went to California, there was no law or
government machinery. The country was
in a state OF transition before it became a
state. OF the large immigration which
began to pour into the country from 1919,
the bulk of it went into the mines.
People from almost every state came in,
and o organizations were formed called
state associations. was from New York
and was secretary of the New York Asso-
citation. The Palmetto Association was
the South Carolina organization; the
Lone Tree, of Maine; the Pike County,
of Missouri, and so ON for each state.
They had books, and the emigrants from
each state enrolled their names on the
books of their state association, received
their letters through it, obtained assist
ance from it in ease of sickness, and in
some cases the bodies of miners who had
died were embalmed and sent back east by
these associations. Ours sent back six
bodies to relatives. They were thus or
gained for mutual help.
Il 1852 the Chinese began to come in,
and being great Iimitators they formed
themselves into associations as they saw
us doing. The province of Canton, from
which most of them came, is one of the
eighteen divisions into which China is
divided. 1t is divided into six counties,
and each of these counties had nm asso-
citation similar to ours. \ Chinaman from
the Sam Luck district would go to the
Sam Luck Association, register his name,
learn where acquaintance from that dis
trict were, get his mail through them,
and in case he was sick his association
would give him assistance. Then, when
he died, the association sent his remains
to his friends in China the same as we
sent the remains of the white men back
to their friends in the east.
'But is it not a religious duty to send
the bodies of Chinese hack ID China
vas asked.
Not at all, replied the colonel.
There are .G5, 900 Chinese in the West
Indies and $4,000 in Peru, and the
practice of sending the bodies of Chi
ncsc back to China is rot followed
there. It was done here because they
saw MS do it.
".litcr the state became more thickly
populated and mail routes, etc, were
established, the necessity OF our state
associations disappeared, and they were
dissolved, although reunions of these
old associations are frequent in our
state.
The growth Of population and change
in the country also necessitatcd a change
in tho fix Chinese associations. Each
one was put in charge of a board of five
managers and a secretary with headquar-
ters at San Francisco. But their func-
tions were the same. They still for
warded and distributed mail, kept a
registry Of all arrivals assisted the sick
and sent home the bodies of their
c%ountrymen- but they never in any ease
furnished laborers for employers, and |
offered a reward of $4,000 for any one
who could prove that any of the six
companies contracted for Chinese labor
ers. They neither bring them over or
have any control over them after they ar
rive. Every Chinaman is free to work for
whom he pleascs and accept or reject the
wages offered, as a Welshman, an
Englishmau. or the native of any other
country.
These companies are supported by a
small fee Of from s.. so tosG.o0 according
to the representation of the company,
paid 10y each man on his departure from
China, When a ship arrives from China
the secretaries Of the companies 60 on
board with their registry books. The
secretary of the Sam Luck association
calls ont are there any persons from the
Sam Luck district If 50, come and
register with the Sam Luck Association,
and so on, each secretary getting the
names of those from his district There is
no c%ompulsion. The officers of these
companies are educated titled gentlemen
and graduates of colleges, and would feel
insulted if you asked them to furnish Ia
borers for you.
Neither are they legal tribunals But
they settle differences between members
of different companies. or between store
keepers. They have no legal machinery
but arc of the nature of a board of arbita-
ton They also pay the passage OF poor
Cinnamon who wish TO return home,
There is no American gold or silver
sent to China. The coin sent is Mexican
dollar-$l00 being worth $40 in China
They also send home large quantities of
-four quicksilver. genseng, etc, as will b'
seen by the San Francisco papers which
notice the departure of ships for China.
The number of Chinese in this coun-
try is largely over estimated. There il
not now over 80, 900 in the United States
and since 1882. $4,000 more Chinese
have returned to China than have arrived
from there. This year there has been a
large number who have returned and it
has materially affected wages in Caliior.
mia. II has raised them from % to IS
per cent all over the state.
Are there no Chinese companies OF
firms who furnish Chinese labor To- em-
ployers2 asked one of the scribe