The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-09-04
How the Celestial When He Comes
to America Gets Over the
Country.
He Is Said to Be a Better Patron
OF the Railways Than Is tho
White Man.
Rates Are scnlpcd for His BonoAt Because
There IL Little Danger Of Detection
On the Carss

railroad company finds 1t no longer necss-
sary to maintain its old Chinese agency at
Sacramento"
II was General Superintendent j. A. Fill
more, of tho Southern Pacific company, who
spoke, says the San Francisco Chronicle,
and as no finished the sentence he
wrote his ~unforgivable quill-pen signature
in violet ink at the foot of an order abolish
ing the agency.
.'But the Chinese travel on the rallrond
as much ~ ever, do they not?" was asked
of the superintendent.
"The Chinese are always travelling" was
the laconic reply.
Always travelling? Well, 10 1t seems. any
way. What the enigrant trains would do
for . full complement of passengers unless
they had carload or 80 Of Mongolians it
would be difficult to say. When one goes
about on the rail and sees the steady tides
OF outgoing and incoming paRans he won
dsrs how they manage to earn money
enough to pay so much railroad fare. No
one for ! moment will question the truth
Of the assertion that in proportion to their
percentage of the population they are much
greater travellers than the white people Of
this country, leaving aside all confederation
of their big journeys across the Pacific.
When the Chinatown resident gets money
enough together to take a trip to Los An
Qeles, Omaha, Chicago or New York he gem
orally begins to think of travelling. It mat
ters not what he may be doing here; il he
thinks Kansas City needs a new washhouse
ho buys a ticket for that town, and ava he
COOS. In the matter of ticket purchasing
he has a great advantage over white per-
SONS. If he is at all shrewd, as he generally
is, he can buy an emigrant ticket at a out
rate of from SIS to SIS cheaper than any
white man can buy it. This fact, ouriously
enough. is wholly due to the white mans
utter lack Of confidence in him ~ an oath
observer.
I'VE can sell a Chinaman a ticket cheaper
than anybody slse.' said a ticket agent the
other day, "for the reason that there is no
danger Of anybody in the railroad pool
mony as to rate outing before the pool
commissions must be by affidavit, and as
Chinamen's afidavits are not admissible as
evidence, Of course we can always steer
clear Of 6 fine when We cut a rate for
them.''
The same railroad man related an odd
tale regarding the cutting of Chinese pas
eenger rates. Not long ago, when the rail-
road combination for the prevention of rate
cutting made it q dischargsable offense for
any agent found tampsring with the pas
sengsr tariff, the agent of one Of the lines
pouncsd down upon a rival with the proof
of his violation of the existing agreement
In tbs shape of a long affidavit from q
Chinese who had been hired for the purpose
of as%certaining if strong suspicious of the
violation in previous instances were true.
Here. the triumphant agent argued. was q
case whore q most intelligent Chinese, a
man who spoke almost f~aultless English
and who had been educated in a Christian
mission, had given straightforward evil
dsnoe, and the commissioner should, be
urged, accept it, rs it was much
better than many an ignorant
white mans testimony. Possibly
the commissions would have accepted
the proof and fined the accused, but onsthe
day set for the hearing of the case, 10 and
behold, there WINS the hated rival, smiling
serenely, with another long affidavit from
the very samo Chinese, setting forth in
elaborate style the fact that he had never
purchased a ticket from the accused, and
had, in fact. never even seen him, and
down at the bottom was the signature of
All Wong in just as round. clear and bust
ness-like chirography as 1t was in the other
affidavit. That settled the question Of Chi
nese testimony with that commissioner
When John travels he invariably carries
a stuffy-looking carpets sack in his hand and
q lot Of nondescript bundles over his shout
der, generally tied together with a heavy
cord or a piece of hayrope. Where they
get all their caEpet-sacks is a mystery.
They are certainly not an Asiatic article of
luggage, but they cannot be disassociated
from the idea of Monaghan travel in this
country. Approaching the ferry, after buy
ing a ticket up town, John casts a wary eye
about him for the r~oll-tax gatherer, who
haunts the landing and keeps a close watch
over all the newcomers as we'll as the out
goeis. He is a very lucky John if he can
manage to ran the gauntlet Of these knen
optics. As soon as the attack begins the
Monaghan clutches with mighty grasp the
handle Of his carpet-ssck, for he knows
that il the ,st point of advantage which the
seeker for his 80 will try to gain.
The poll tax man knows the trick of loos-
ening the heathen's hold. Having secured
the cprpet sack, he will not let it go until
the tax is paid. No Chinaman was ever
known to pay his roll tax chserfully, and
this John is no exception. He shakes his
head, jabbe 8 and raves, and tries to pom
vince the tax man that he has not the slight
est notion in the world of what he Ia after.
That dodge will not work, however, for it il
IN old one and the tax gntherer. sitting So
renely on the stuffy carpet sack, wins the
day, unless John values his 81 more than
lie does his cheap luggage and fees for the
two-bit Jumper" n pair of wofn-outo over
alls. some mysterious looking provender
and a pair of cork-solcd shoes with turned
up toes.
OuC0 HDOHrO Nlb tTNlus COuu blGS D6blOe
a countryman of his, who is sure to turn
out either a cousin or a cousin of a friend
of his. They make a few remarks about
the weather. tho state Of the labor market
and the chances of getting rich in a few
weeks at the places whittier they are
bound. None of these remarks are of q
lively nature. In fact, John on the rail is
the same stolid, lcthargic John that he is
anywhere else. He folds his loosely
draped arms and takes little heed of any
thing, doing away the long hours on the
train as contentedly as if he were lolling
at ease under the washhouso table. In
fact, a carload of Chinese is as much like
n carload of mummies as it is like any
thing.
When night comes. John let's down his
berth, spreads his blankets and falls into u
peaceful slumber on his hard couch. The
whole carload of countrymen are soon as
quiet rs the grave, and 40 they sleep, If UNI
disturbed, until late in the morning. If,
however,, from any cause, such IA the sud
den humping or jolting of the train in
switching, they are disturbed, they spring
mp, stick their yellow heads out Of their
berthB and begin chattering like a cage full
OF monkeys. In the case of IN accident
they ensily become panic stricken, and
those who are uninjured seldom render any
nssistance to those who may be in danger.
Those who are pinned down In the ruins of
q caf will, in most cases, be- allowed to ro-
main there and die for all tho we'll md
sound ones may do TO sxtricate them.
joss wantc me no savee," 10 tho reply