The morning call., 1893-03-27

law by force if necessary. WHAT nonsense
it is on the face of it," said King, indig-
nantly. why, for the past two weeks a
squad OF only six men have been raiding
Chinatown. They were only a half dozen
men. surrounded by thousands of Chinese,
and yet there has never been hand raised
against an officer of the law nor a COM
plant made by the Chinese officials, al
though we know of scores OF cases where
innocent men were badly beaten. Does
such a course as that upon the part of the
Chinese bear out the report that we are ad-
vising Chinese 10 resist the law by force !?
III such was our idea. what better time
was there for an outbreak? We realized
that in order to reach the guilty some inno-
cent men would have to suffer, as is nearly
always the case, and the Six Companies and
Chinese officials aided the officers az l have
said, while the handful of white men went
among our people and did as they pleased,
unharmed and unresisted.
I'VE are not fools. We realize that even
II we wanted to resist by force the militia
scattered broadcast over the State, the
United States troops at the Presidio Alca-
traZ Angel Island and Mare Island would
be hurled upon US at the very outset
and we would be crushed like an eggshell.
No such idea has ever been entertained
mo. sir. What the Six Companies have
done Is this: We hav employed the best
lawyers money could hire, and when they
told us the Geary law was unconstitutional
the companies issued the circular published
exclusively in THE CALL at the time. adj
Vising all Chinese to pay no attention to the
law, as we believed it could not be enforced.
Since then we have not advised our coun-
trymen by circular nor otherwise regarding
the law. What we expect is that when the
time comes an arrest will be made and then
the matter will be at once taken to the
United States Supreme Court and that
tribunal will en- join the enforcement of the
law until It decides upon its constitutonality.
We will submit peaceably 10 the laws of
this country and before May next we will
issue warning to the Chinese to submit to
Imprisonment If need be. but never to resist.
1--WE have heard talk about extending
chains of guards all about Chinatown and
preventing any Chinese from leaving GER
tain district. While such action, in my
opinion, would be useless, though it may be
done for effect by some official, still If it is
done we will submit quietly, peacefully"
Secretary Tone, who is one of the editors
of War KEGS Oriental newspaper pub
lished in this city, as we'll as business man
ager of the Six Companies, had been writ
ing while Vlce-Copsul King was talking.
When the latter concluded Tone said, hand
ing the reporter a clipping from the latest
issue of his paper, which appears in these
columns: where all this talk comes from
is this article from our correspondent
in Washington. II merely tells of visit
made by the Chinese Minister to President
Cleveland and a statement that the two had
a long talk over the Geary law. After our
Minister left the President some of the ad-
vocates of the bill rushed over to the White
House and wanted to know the substance
of the conversation. President Cleveland
and Secretary Gresham both declined to give
them any information, All our correspond
ent says Is that the President and the State
Department assured our Minister that what
was right in the matter the Government OF
the United States would do. That is all
there is 10 it.
II am writing an article" continued
Tone. comparing the organization known
as White Caps, who have murdered and
fogged to death not only men but women
and children IN at least a dozen States in
the Union, with Chinese highbinders. ]
am not defending the latter, not bit OF 1t.
We all wish every highbinder on earth
could be caught ana hanged or beheaded.
but want to show that even Americans
cannot control lawless men at times, and
that they go on with their murderous work
for months and years right in the midst of
your most populous communities and the
law is powerless. Incidentally am calling
attention to the Ku Klux. with their hun
dreds of murders, some OF them even fiend-
ish, where houses were burned and women
and children burned in them or shot as they
ran out Of doors. Then there is the Malta,
the strikers at Pittsburg and Homestead
and Ceur d'Alene.
"As MIR. King remarked, Chinese are not
fools, and while we have many bad men
very, very many bad men-we are not alone
among the nations in that respect. Few
white people, and no women nor children,
have ever been injured by highbinders. and
surely If murder can be made worse than
the mere taking of life it is when people are
whipped. burned or otherwise tortured to
death instead OF being killed by a pistol
bullet or the stroke of knife, the high
binders manner of Staying.
"The Six Companies" concluded Tone,
will await news from Mr.. Choate at Wash
ington before saying anything more. and it
is probable that ere this cur Government