The morning call., 1893-03-11
BLOOD WILL FLOW.
The Highlander War in
Chinatown.
MERCHANTS ARE FRIGHTENED
Hundreds OF Hungry Coolies Flocking
in From the Country-K King
Owang Gives Aid.


wiFh-the highbinders are constantly in
creasing in numbers in the Chinese quarter
and murders are of almost daily occurrence.
Lesser outrages are perpetrated with a
daring that amounts to recklessness
There is a reason for this state of affairs
easily found by those who have given any
time TO the study of the Chinese question,
ana the reason only goes to show the wis
dom of the legislation providing for either
the Identification of all the Chinese in this
country by officers of the law or their de-
portatGn.
May next the Geary law becomes active
and every Chinese who is not merchant
ana who has not registered and thus identi-
Fed himself must leave this country either
willingly or by force.
The highbnCers all come from the cody
classes, the men whom the registration law
is made to reach.
Heretofore they have roamed about from
| place to place absolutely unidentified, and
In The new law they see a menace TO their
freedom Of action in the future.
Besides, heretofore the cody class of
| ChlneSe nave generally lived in the country
| during the winter and were fed by country
merchants, who in the spring sold them by
| contract 10 vneyardists or ranchers, col
| lected their wages and took therefrom the
cost of their keeping through the winter.
4NoH+ Inc CbOilco IcIuSIuS ~ register, the
country merchants realize that when May
comes the men they have kept all winter
! will be sent home 10 China aud consequently
| they Will be out OF pocket.
SO they have refused TO furnish food to
! the coolies unless they have registered. The
| SIX COMPANIES having warned the coolies
| not to register, and the country merchants
| refusing 10 feed them because they do not
| register, the labOrers flock into San Fran
cisco and demand of the Six Companies sup
| port until such time as the Geary bill is
| proven unconstitutional
Here they meet with disappointment, for
| the SIX Companies refuse 10 help them.
| They do not propose to starve and at once
| turn highbinders, matchmaking every mer-
| chant they can brighten and killing men to
| strike terror to the hearts of the Chinese
who defy them anu refuse their demands.
\ o less than 5000 Chinese have come to
San Francisco from the interior within the
| past month, and not one in twenty had
| enough money TO keep him q week when he
landed here.
Being strangers these men are not known
| TO the police and they take advantage of
| that fact to commit daring Outrages, under
the guidance Of the resident highbinders,
that the latter would not dare attempt.
Thus 1t is that Chinatown 8 in a state Of
terror, and murders and shooting afTrays
are Of almost daily occurrence, while from
one 10 fifty Chinese merchants apply to the
police daily demanding protection ana say
luS tuty nave UGtD threatened Win death
unless they pay tribute to the highbinders.
THE situation is serious" said Chief
Crowley, when questioned Yesterday con-
corning the hlghbinders' war. Chief Crow
ley is CONSERVATIVE man ana the last one in
the world TO pose as an alarmlst, but he is,
at the same time, an honest man aud if he
answersy your question at all he will tell you
the truth.
Later in the day the Chief and King
Owang. the Chinese Vice Consul General,
neld long conference and then the Judges
ana CLERKS OF the various police courts were
sent FOR and the star-chambeC meeting con-
tinued.
When II was over the police had nothing
TO say and King Owang hurried home,
while the Judges and clerks of the police
courts were too busy to answer questions,
but II leaked out very soon that the con-
ference was concerning the situation in
| Chinatown, and that the Chinese consulate
| had joined forces with the Chief of Police
| in an endeavoT to suppress the highbinders.
Chief Crowley on being again interviewed
said: Ever since we have had a Chinatown
| we have had highbnders and Highlander
| wars, resulting N more or less slaughter
and trouble, but The present war seems to
| be one OF the worst we have ever had, be-
! cause of the numbers engaged in il. The
! Chinatown squad has worked faithfully
| and hard, but II every policeman en- the
| force was stationed in Chinatown we could
not prevent these outbreaks.
what we are now trying 10 do is to pre-
| vent the escape of highbinders once ar
rested 1t has not been customary" con-
| tinued the Chief, "for pTis0n-keepers, who
| are permitted TO take cash bail in cases of
arrests for misdemeanOrs. to require the
| highest amount of bail fixed by law unless
there is some evidence that the case is an
aggravated one. The prison. keepers have
been in the habit of accepting the lowest
| cash bail fixed for the offeuse. In the same
way it has not been the custom of Police
| Judges or the clerks of police courts in
the absence of Judges to require bonds in
the highest amount fixed by law for INSIDE
meanOr.
''Ihe result is that highbinders have been
arrested for vagrancy time and again, Sc
cured a small cash bail and thereby their
liberty to 20 right back into Chinatown and
resume their devlish work. Understand,
too. that it is generally the leaders, the
worst of the highbinders, that become
| known TO the police and are arrested, and
If we could only keep them in Jail once we
have them we might be able to handle their
followers.
I'VE have dropped all pretense of hand
ling this dangerous class with gloves.
Thursday night Detectives Cox and Glen
non and Sergeant Burke and his squad
visited the headquarters of the Suey Sing
Tong Society on the top floor OF the build
ing on the northwest corner of Bartlett
alley and jackson street, and the Hop Sing
Tong Society on the top floor of the build
ing al the southwest corner of Dupont and
Pacific streets, and Quilted both places.
sma shing the jOSses and destroying the flags
and furniture.
ut had to be done. and the same work
will be kept up wherever a highlander
society is known to meet.
The conference to-day was to agree up
on bail in cases of arrest. Hereafter no
bond viii be accepted by any Police Judge
or clerk of Police Court for any Chinese
arrested, unless it is first accepted by the
Chinese COnsul-Genera and by myself In
future the highest cash bail will be required
in all cases, and we hope to be able to stop
this war where it is"
Too much praise cannot be given Ser
geant Burke and the men of his squad for
the manner in which they are taking hold
of the bighbinders. Alter demolishing the
two meeting-rOOms of the highlander So
cieties mentioned by the Chief-and demol-
ish is the word to use, for they literally
smashed everything. joss and all, into
| pieces-the squad went TO work to collect
| suspicious characters.
They captured twenty-three highbinders
yesterday afternoon who had taken possess
sion OF two houses of i'll fame, and were
| compelling the inmates to cook their dinner
and entertain them when the officers raided
the places.
From this time on no quarter will be given
any Chinese who attempts TO violate the
law. Suspects will he promptly arrested
! and held until they can prove their identity
ana innocence Despite the watchfulness
of the police it is expected that score of
men will be killed before the 1st of May.
There are hundreds of hungry Chinese in
Chinatown and more coming every day.
When the Chinese are willing TO join with
the whites in prosecuting their own country
men, the situation is far more serious than
the police are willing to admit. yet this is
the status Of affairs to-day, and the war has
only begun.
A Kearny- Street Runaway.