The morning call., 1893-12-10
Government People Want
to Find Her.
ANOTHER CHINESE FRAUD.
Landed on the Testimony of
White Witnesses.
HER HUSBAND NEVER SAW HER.
Commissioner Heacock Unearths
Some More Crooked WOrk-SOme.
body VIII Suffer for 1t.

The customs officers are hard at work
on case which promises sensational de.
velopments in the near future On Au-
gust Il last two Chinese girls, named Chum
Ken aud Chum Fook, were taken before
United States Commissioner Heacock on
writ of habeas corpus. the Collector of the
Port aving refused to allow them to
land, although both girls, or women, were
provided with Custom-house certificates.
The claim made by the women was that OF
prior residence in this country. They
swore that they were both born in this
city, were the daughters Of Chun Yuen of
S31 Sacramento street and went on to tell
how and why they were sent to China.
In addition to the Chinese testimony
offered, which was voluDinous, two white
people, Mrs. Elenor Davege of 1910 Steiner
street and A. j. Fairweather, an attorney
having an Office 10 the Mills building, were
examined on behalf Of the girls.
The elder of the two women, Chum Ken,
swore that she was the wife Of one Choy
Lum. a partner OF her father, and the
record shows that Mrs. Davega testified
that she knew the husband of Chum Ken
| and had seen him on August IA, 1893, the
day of the trial. The husband was not
produced in ronrt. but on account of the
positive testimony of the white witnesses
Commissioner Heacock reported favora-
bly, on The cases and the girls were landed.
Nothing more was thought of the case,
| for IL Is seldom that reliable white wit
| Desses are produced to aid In the landing
| of Chinese women, and when they do
| come into court and make positive state
mrnls in behalf of a Chinese female peti-
1 rin 10 Ui hair
mouy, because it is an undsputed fact
| that so far as the Chinese are concerned
| ninety-nine out OF every hundred If them
| will in such cases swear TO almost any
| ling in order to accomplish their object.
| II was because of the testimony given by
the white people in Chum ken's and Chum
| FOok's behalf that the officers so readily
took IL for granted that everything was
straight.
The absence OF the husband was not
considered unusual, especially as it was
| found by the inspectors that he, Choy
! Lum, was registered as partner of the
father of the girls, was known to be a
married man, and in addition his absence
was plausibly explained.
On Friday last there was taken before
| Commissioner Heacock a young Chinese
girl named Choy Met Lin, who also
| claimed right to land as native of Cali
fornia. She claimed 10 have been born in
San Francisco at S31 Sacramento street.
| where her father, Chov Lum, was at the
time OF her birth partner. She said she
was 16 years of age and went home TO
| China on the Arabia in April. 1885. The
| girl told straightforward story, and when
| asked by the attorney for the Government
said her mother was dead. had died in
| 1884, and went on TO tell what she remem-
| bered about this city.
Then the father of the girl, Choy Lum,
las put on the stand. He testified that he
| nf naE nd nd nod
sided there for number of years. That
he was once partner IN the firm al 831
| Sacramento street, but had not been in
that firm for long time. several years.
He went on to say that he was unmarried.
| While he was testifying Commissioner
HeacOck was excitedly delving in his desk
among the papers filed there, and no
sooner had the direct examination of Choy
Lum been concluded than he went at him
with perfect shower of questions. The
result was that ChOy Lum denied en-
phatically that he was the husband OF
any woman. and certainly not he husband
of Chum Ken. the alleged daughter Of his
partner oil years before. He also denied
| ever having seen the girl or knowing Mrs.
| Dsyega, or having been in this city on
August 10 last, and he speedily produced
witnesses to prove that he was telling the
truth.
The Commissioner was nonplused
| Here was the man who had been said by
| white witnesses to be a partner of the
father Of the Chinese girls who had been
| landed August IA. and the husband of one
| of them, and it was now proven that he
was neither. Choy I,um capped the ci-
max of the Commissioners dilemma when
he positively stated that the picture shown
him ss that of Chun Yuen, his old part
ner and alleged father-in-law, was the
| photograph of man he bad never seen be-
| fore.
G,.l@
| Yuen and Deputy United States Mar
shal was sent to S31 Sacramento street to
bring the alleged father of the girls landed
| August Ia into court, in order that he
might face the man he had sworn. as had
Mrs. Davega. was his son-ln-aw, but now
swOre that not only was he unmarried, but
| that he didn't know Cbun Yuen. The
| deputy marshal went to the store and
asked for Chun Yaen and man responded
| to the name. but as soon as the subpoena
was produced the Chinese declared he was
not Chun Yuen and didn't know where he
was.
This decided Commissioner Hsacock.
One OF The two cases was certainly a
| fraud. Either the girls landed on Au-
gust IA had been LANDED by false testimony
or Choy Lum was then trying to land h s
daughter by perjury. He ordered SUBJ
penas issned for all the witnesses in the
case of Chum Ken and Chum Fook, com.
pelIing them to be in court Monday. and
then continued the case Of Choy Met Lin
until that date. so her father would be
| compelled to be in court and meet the
| people who had sworn that they knew
| him as the husband of Chum Ken. How
the matter will terminate no one can con-
lecture, but certain 1t Is that some one Is
going to get into serious trouble over the
affair. The presence of the two girls
landed on August IA Is desired, but up to
late hour yesterday the officers had not
found them. Commissioner Heacock,
usually the best-tempered man in the
world, Is now angry. and it will 60 hard