, 1888-09-01
fHINESE L%AUNDRYMEN.
WONG CHIN FOO TELLS OF THE
BUSINESS IN NEW YORK.

Ahe Almond EYED JOURNALIST SHOWS How
Ills Countrymen Arc Set Up Financially.
Tho Mysteries of the whey" or sypdL
cate-The Laundrymen's Law.
The question has frequently been asked
by Americans, "Do these Cinnamon wash
clothes in Chinaf How is it that nearly
all who come here enter the laundry bust
ness1 Do they love it," No. they do not
love it any more than any other kind of
labor. They did not even know what the
'Melican mans" shirt looked like, much
less how TO dress one, before they came
to America. Laundry work in China is
invariably done by women, and when a
man steps into a woman's occupation he
loses his social standing.
They become lnundrymen here simply
because there is no other occupation by
which they can mako money as surely
and quickly. The prejudice against the
race has much to do with 1t. They are
fine cooks, neat and faithful servants,
and above all, very skillful mechanics at
any trade they have a min to try. In
the western states, where their value is
. better understood, they are used in as
many different positions as any other
foreigners, and the laundry business is
occupied only by those who fail to find
Their employment.
NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE.
in New York as yet there Is
i've Many an able
: skillful mechanic
} better his condi-
ing the polishing
Chinese lnunclv.-
dollars to
of z6se
ny most
sbu1d give
rican Wall
street deacon The main expenditure In
r Chinese laundry is a stove and q trough
for xvochfpr of,d narfftfonu FOR drr ,oC,,
and sleeping apartment, and a sign.
As u rule it requires 800 to open a
laundry in New York. But this amount
is n fortune to a newly arrived hin
man, and unless he starts Immediately
into the laundry business, he would be-
como a burden to some Of his friends.
The Chinese immigrant, unlike his Euro
pean compatriots, never comes here unless
he is safely surrounded by friends or
relatives upon his arrival. These imme-
diately initiate him into the mysteries of
the laundry business. In some friendly
laundry the newcomer Is placed unde a
six months apprenticeship. beginning at
the wash tub, until he reaches tho ironing
table, and lastly the polishing board.
These apprentices begin with SO per week
and board, and a gradual addition Of 81
per week after the first months, untn they
are able to take charge of a laundry them
selves. Then If he has money he hires a
place and hangs out his sign. II not, he
goes to one or two friends, and they will
call a "whey" or syndicate for his benefit
in the following manner.
MYSTERIES OF II WHEY"
Suppose 1 have m established laundry,
and want to borrow 5000 at a certain per
centum premium, but l cannot find any
one Chinaman who is able to loan me the
amount l put up a notice in Mott
street that upon such and such a day /
wish to make n 'whey" of twenty men,
who all are supposed to be situated like
myself. each wanting to borrow 5000.
When we twenty borrowers all come to-
gether we each put down $40. Then each
one secretly writes upo a slip of paper
tho amount of interest be. is willing to
give to get the $500. These slips are
carefully sealed and thrown into q bowl
At a given time they arc opened, and to
the highest bidder goes the $500, less the
interest, which Is invariably deducted
Immediately from the principal.
Frequently as high us 81 Is offered for
the use of $40 for a single month. In
5 such cases each of the nineteen other Dor
rowers gives to tho lucky one only SO
apiece for tho $40 apiece which they
make him pay next month. Then the
next highest bidder gets the 5000, less
the interest he offered, and 30 ON, until
the entire twenty, at twenty different
times, have obtained the use of this 5000;
but tho one that comes the last, having
ohtitd bho lctSt AulcItSb Va Luein I'LL
reaps the harvest of the whey" This
method is adopted by most Chinese laun-
drymen in New York and other large
cities to open new laundries.. 1t partakes
of the gaming flavor which Is captivating
to every true Celestial.
No c~hinanan can transfer his place of
business into the hands of another with
out at least thirty days notice in ''Chinac
town. /" on Mott street, and the buyer is
not required to pay him more han half
of the purchase money until the legal
thirty days are past. This is the laun-
drymen's law. made four years ago In
this city, to prevent a laundryman from
absconding from his creditors. Upon the
completion of the thirty days creditors
and debtors must meet at the transferred
laundry, and when all of the old debts
are liquidated q clear title of the laundry
is given to the new owner.-Wong Chin
Foo in The Cosmopolitan.
The Hotel Register Must Go.
The register at some of the fashionable