The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-12
"No TRUSTEE NO LoosEE.

The Lon Gee-T Tong society is organized
much as secret societies are banded together
among Americans 1t has some secrets TO
be held inviolable by its members under the
sanctity OF numerous oaths, and as many
deaths heads and cross-bones as In any
association of Mclean man. 1t has a board
Of officers who are elected from time to
time, and have like functions as our officers,
with the addition that they act on occasion
both as executive aud as financial commit
tees. There is no treasurer in the sense
that we understand it. for either from fear
of robbery, or as the Chinese claim, for the
purpose Of avoiding temptation. the funds
Of the society are kept in a safe to which
there are as many locks as there are officers.
To each lock there is one key only, which
is the property Of an officer during his
term in Office. The wisdom OF this precau-
tion is shown by the fact that in the forty
years that have elapsed since the Chinese
came to America, only one defalcation of
such funds has occurred, and that was for a
trifing amount The safe of the Lon-Gee-
Tong is a curious sight, having no less than
five special combination padlocks attached
besides the regular combination lock of the
safe itself,
The society, like all which are in good
working order, employs its physician by
the year, whose duty it is, besides giving
medical attendance to all sick me nbers, to
supply necessary medicines, aud in some
c4ses to superintend the cooking, or even
himself to cook the delicacies and special
articles of diet demanded in each case.
Every member of the society, when sick,
receives without cost the physicians attend
ance, his medicines and his food. This is
not all After he is well enough to get out
Of bed until be has fully recovered, he re-
ceives also without cost the constant atten-
dance Of some fellow member as nurse
and assistant. The society providing this
attendant calls first for volunteers. II
there is no volunteer a lottery is held in
which each member has a single number,
and then, according 10 the numerical
strength Of the society. two, three, or four
men are drawn for each day and they serve,
relieving one another like soldiers on watch
or policemen on beat.
When through sickness or for any other
reason, member desires to borrow money,
he calls on the society for a syndicate loan,
and notice Is forthwith placed on the
bulletin. It will read something like this:
"Wun Lung wants 500 for six months
Object: To start laundry" Or "Object:
Sickness from broken arm"
The more wealthy members will prob
ably subscribe enough to make up the de-
sired sum, and the money will be paid over
at once to the applicant. II, after the lapse
Of two or three months, he has put by say
$50 towards the payment Of his debt, he
calls meeting of his creditors and tells
them how much he can pay. Then an
auction is held Some one may have sub
scrlbed $50 end now may need money.
he will bid 500, another will bid $2S and so
on until some one who is the nee liest OF all
may bid $50, and this the debtor pays over.
In this way syndicate loan is often repaid
lar below par.
Otfenses against the society are severely
punished. The worst of these is embezzle-
ment Of funds held In trust for the sick or
dead. The punishment for this is death
wherever 1t can be inflicted.
Here the Highlander comes in.
lie is the societyfs executioner, having
something of the functions of sheriff of an
American county The authority Of his
position may be appreciated when 1t is re-
membered that in China there is neither
code OF law as in Latin countries, nor
written common law as in Engls I'd and
america. Chinese law Is custom, witt the au-
thority OF fifty centuries OF duration, and
not only has a Chinese community the
same legitimate right 10 infict death out
side OF China as inside its limits, but in
Sew York and San Francisco, the society is
the synonym for the community. THIS is
az least partially shown by the fact that the
Cnlnese ambassadors or consuls in all for
elgn lands where there are large Chinese
settlements, recognize the constitutions OF
cue societies by exchanging official courte-
"ss and dinners with the societies officials.
Inese societies, are not, as has been so Of
zen reported, mo ey-making corporations,
out associations for mutual support and
lelp. Their so-caled personal tax on tho
saves they rulen corresponds closely to the
OCCASIONAL assessments OF our mutual benev-