The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-07
THREATEN A WAR
Chinese longs Fight the
MCCreary Law.
But the Registration Bureaus Bust
ness SteediIy IncreaseS-What
WeIburn Says.

AS prophesied in THE CALL some DAYS
ago the Chinese are beginning 10 openly
manifest their opposition to the McCreary
act and are intimidating such of their
cOuntrymen as desire to register. Some
time on Thursday night or Friday morn
ing gang of highbnders went through
the most populOus portions of Climate wn
aud tore from the bulletin boards the cir
culars that Collector Welburn had printed
in Chinese and posted throughout the
Chinese quarter. The circulars informed
the Celestials where they could register.
what it was necessary for them to do and
what would be the consequences in case
they failed to comply with the law.
Both King Owyang. the Chinese Vice
Consul, Messrs. Riordan and MOwry, the
two attorneys who have most of the Chi
nese business in charge. and the famous
Six Companies, the rulers of all Chinese,
great and small, in America, except the
highbinders or tongs. have said that they
favored the McCreary act and advised the
Chinese to comply with it. but none of
them has issued any proclamation to
that effect. Messrs. Riordan and MGwry
could not be expected to do so, as they are
merely private citizens except when in
court King Owyang, being only the Vice.
Consul, could not be expected to issue a
proclamation unless by orders of his chief,
and Tone. secretary of the Six Companie les,
SAYS: They really can't do anything, you
know, because it is really none of their
business whether the Chinese reg ster and
stay or refuse to register and go home.
They can do as they please, but 10 all who
come to them they say you'd better obey
the law.
The toDgs or highbinders have no checks
upon them, and since they issue all their
proclamations in the night they consult no
one as to where they shall be posted. The
highbnders of Chinatown have not only
torn dawn Collector Welburn's circulars,
but they have notified certain Chinese
merchants trat if they continued to re-
Quire the laborers in their employ to regis
ter the tongs would call upon them Tin
the night sometime" They have sent
word 10 certain other Chinese who are en-
gagged in taking photographs for Chinese
who want 10 register that by and by we
see you with Ratchet"
Worse than these private proclaim atoms
by the tOngs is q public one that has been
posted for few hours at a time here and
there about Chinatown and which saws in
substance that if the Chinese persist in
registering trey will be killed.
The hostility of the tongs or high
binders to the McCreary act is easily
Consulate and all the reputable mer-
chants in Chinatown have been working
to get rid of the ''hatchet men," The
registration law furnishes them with an
excellent opportunity to do this. Most of
the highbiDders are felOns, and as such
cannot register if they would. OF the
rem iuder there are many who are now
wanted, and the Photographic clause
would furnish the police with clew which
could be followed up. and In cases of
future trouble the photographs would be a
sure "tip'' as to the Identification of the
men. Hence their opposition, and it may
be that another tong war will be inau-
guraied in the near future.
Despite the threats there were more
Chinese registered yesterday than on any
previous day, and It Is probable that the
work of tearing down the circulars will
call forth the advice from the Consulate
that Collector Welburn has been hoping