The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1888-06-15

the courts They N.Y. [gY
have been arrested, @ US
he says when play CSL
ing games as inno- u w.
cent as checkers or
dominoes, brought
into court after night in Jail, and
then, under the testimony of the police
and the inability of the Chinese, from
ignorance of language and customs, to ex-
plain their harmless conduct, fines are i'm
posed upon innocent and guilty alike. So
it is hardly safe for Chinaman to play
any kind of game in company, lest he
be mistaken for gambler.
smA
The Chinaman's plea, put in United
States language runs about thus: Our men
have no homes IN which to enjoy themselves
after the manner of Americans. They
have no theaters or outdoor sports. Of
fensive curiosity or actual hostility pursues
them everywhere in public. They are a
camp of strangers, and their only places of
friendly resort are the large Chinese
stores. They have no workngmen's asso-
Citations, no Christian association or other
place for social meetings. Should not the
Chinese be allowed to meet together in
their way as other residents do in another
way for social and business purposes, even
though it be in the Same building with a
Chinese store? Are the Chinaman's games to
be denied him because they are different from
the amusements of Americans or because
the Chinese have no homes and have to play
their home games in public place?
Should they for this be subject to the dis
grace of being arrested as Chinese gam
hlers?
1t will be observed from this argument
that possibly the Bostonians of to day, and
Americans in general, are observing in
fashion the rule that prevailed among the
villagers of England several centuries ago
to stone all strangers who passed through
the village Civilization has furnished us
with more powerful weapon than the
stones of our ancestors.
So
This is not saying that the people without
pigtails have a monopoly of gambling and
other demoralizing vices The Chinese do
not have as much money to waste in this
way but large number among them
make the most Of their opportunities, and
they find white gamblers rich source of
revenue 1t is said that the ''som toy'' lot
teries though backed and operated by Chi,
nese, derive the bulk of their profits from
degraded whites.
Som toy is an exciting and infatuating
game to those who have been educated up
to it by betting on base ball "combina.
tions." Many of the washhouses sell the
brown slips of paper marked with curious red
or black spots, which are known to the in
itiated as lottery tickets. The headquarters
OF the lotteries are usually in the main
Chinese village, near the corner of Harrison
avenue and Essex streets.
In this neighborhood, which at night
smells rankly of opium and clothestub
. vapors, are a number of Chinese importing
houses, where a show is made of selling
teas and groceries dear to the Mongolian
heart. but the heaviest business transacted
is the retailing of opium and writing of
lottery strips Perhaps some reputable
men and women tempt fortune with these
slips, buying of their laundrymsn, but
as yet the game does not seem
to have spread extensively beyond the
rough element who frequent low resorts.
go
Som toy is operated on the combination
plan. On small slips of paper are stamped
eighty characters, said by the gentlemen of
the washtub to represent the names of
eighty beautiful females celebrated in
Chinese legends. The game consists in
fottnig out ten of these spots, with
brush dipped in India ink, in the hope OF
striking winning combination. Drawings
are made daily at headquarters. In draw
ing eighty small sticks each stamped with
character corresponding to one of those
on the tickets, are thrown into a deep
bowl, and twenty are drawn out by a
blindfolded Chnaman. These are the
winning characforc onI If tho ti.Eot hn1Aor
has guessed five out of the twenty he gets
81 on 81 ticket Six spots entitle him to
49, seven to 5000, eight to $500, nine to
$500 and ten call for $4,000, but it is
probable that the Keely motor will mote
before anybody gets that $4,000. There
are various other systems of combinations
to enable fools to get rid of their money.
Base ball combinations are the indul-
gence of Mclean men only. There is
betting room in Spring lane which has
been running for years, with occasional
disturbance by the police, who have APP
parently given up the attempt to suppress
it. Hundreds of men pack themselves as
closely as sardines every weekday after
noon watching the bulletins from the ball
fields and putting their dollars into the
"broker's'' till. The game is to guess all
the clubs which will lie successful that day
in one of the leagues, or to guess the win
ners of the horse races, which are also bull
letined.
To return to the abuses of the Chinese:
One of them says that many of the police
try to protect them just the same as if
they were Americans or Germans, or Irish;
but other officers misuse their power by
entering and examining the Chinamen's
dwellings without any cause or reason.
They also practice petty extortions, de-
manding gifts as a price for protection.
The Chinese, it is asserted, feel that they
must rely on their own strength and weap-
ons for safety from the hoodlums. If they
complain of assault they often get 10 salts
faction from some of the police beyond the
inquiry: Hello, John, what's the matter?