The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-09

Cnlnaman VINO udu pttu QeDOrteu SIX
times, and was making the seventh at
tempt to enter this country. All this ex-
pense is borne by the San Francisco or
ganization.
THE NOVICE INITIATED
''When the Chinaman has reached the
United States, the agent Of the company
sends him to'the city where they have use
for him. He is sometimes put to work for
a railroad company; the Southern Pa
cific, Northern Pacific and Canadian Pa
citic all have contracts for Chinese la
borers. Sometimes he is set to work at gar
dening, but he is usually sent to some
laundry. The money which he earns is
sent to the company; nOmnaIly To pay for
his passage, but that is a debt which is
never paid. As long as he lives he is
compelled to pay tribute TO the organila-
ton, unless he acquires enough atone time
to buy his freedom. Even after that, he is
compelled to pay arbitrary assessments
for one purpose or another. That is the
reason that all wealthy Chiuamen are
those who are the agents OF the organiza-
ton or are those who came to America
before the exclusion law was passed
Zone of the cardinal principles of the
organization is its adherence to the High
binder Society. 1t has its JOSS houses
and each Chinaman is initiated into the
society when he comes to this country
AlGuOu8u ne ludy nave uttu Il lNeulDGE OF
the Triad Society in China, he is again
initiated into the Tong branch of the
organization, which is the one that pre-
walls in the United States
The rites are those which are most
calculated to impress him He is first
taken to the josshouSe, where he is shown
all the idols he revereS. Below the i'm
ages of Confucius, LaOt2e and the Tauo-
istic idols, he is shown a small spot of
arsf from yxrni w n ba ff, ha
growing. He is then made to take a num-
Der of vows, after which several of the
company, including the novice, prick the
middle finger of the right hand until
it bleeds freely The blood is mixed
with rice wine and the cups ex-
changed, each drinking the others
blood, which is supposed to be an en-
blem of what will happen to the High
binder who disobeys the commands of the
order. He is then a full-hedged member
of the Tong Society, which signifies that
he is a Ratchet boy, which name is given
to the mem bers of the Tong Society be-
cause they formerly used a small Ratchet
when they committed their murders
One of the most emphatic oaths taken by
the members of the Tong Society is TO
shield, at all hazards to their own lives,
the life of a fellow Tong who has muir
dered or robbed a stranger. They are
also pledged to drink the blood OF any
person whom the Tong Society decides to
have killed.
COMMIT MURDER WITH IMMUNITY.
"To the incredulous these vows SAVIOR
of blood and thunder fiction, but the fact
remains that they have been executed
time and time again, and that the police
and magistrates of this country are pow
erless to punish Chinese murderers. Any
member of the Tong Society can murder
another Chinam6n with the utmost inn
punity unless he does it before the eyes of
the law or some person other than
Chinaman.
THE records of Chinese murders which
have been committed in the United States
show that the crime is seldom punished
On the Pacific coast very little attention
is paid to a Chinese murder. Once, when
the officers of San Francisco did convict
and hang a couple of Chinese they were
congratulated on their spasm of enforcing
the law, but il was conclusiVely shown
afterward that the two men who were
hung were innocent, and their lives had
been sworn away by mem bers of the Tong
Society, who wanted to get rid of these
Two Cinnamon, and decided to let the law
kill them off instead of executing them in
the usual manner. Since that time testi-
mony of Cinnamon against their fellows
has been taken with grain of salt
"a member of the Highbinder Society
in any city" continued the speaker,
could murder another Chinaman whom
the society had condemned, and the au-
thorities would find it very hard work 10
identify or convict the murderer China
men live together A large number of
them occupy one room. The Highlander
who was detailed to commit the murder
would enter the room when there were a
number of other Highbinders there and
either brain the victim with a Ratchet or
stab him. RevOlvers are seldom used
The only danger that the murderer would
incur would be in not killing his victim
before the police arrived. in that event,
the dying man might point out the muir
derer or tell his name. To avoid this, the
Highlander literally hacks his victim to
pieces.
'The manner of stabbing a man in
China is to stab him in the center of the
chest, as the Chinese still believe that the
heart is in the center of the body but
the Highlander knows better He usually
brushes the skull of the victim with
Ratchet and then stabs him in the heart
When the police arrive there are a dozen
Cinnamon who seem to be frightened
almost out of their wits. Their fear,
however, is simulated. The victim
is dead and every other Chinaman
declares his ignorance of the affair
If they are all arrested some other
Chinaman comes forward with a theory
that the deceased mad an enemy who had
sworn to kill him, and describes that
| enemy. The police are put on the wrong
scent, and usually are compelled to give
up the case in disgust. If, however, one
Chinaman is held for trial dozen others
come forward with many reasons why he
could not have killed the man Even
when police officers have been witnesses
to murders, the murderers have escaped,
because no Caucasian is able to distin-
guish one Chinaman from another.
THERE IS NO ESCAPE.
'It is impossible for Chinaman to es-
cape from the edict of the Tong Society.
If he goes to another city he is imme-
diately recognized by the agents OF the
Highbinders, whose system Of surveil-
lance is more efficient than the system
which the police have to catch criminals.
Sometimes when a Chinaman is thought
to be one who will try to escape. he is
branded with the words Tai ping on the
left cheek, which makes his Identification
quite easy.
'"The Tong Society is all powerful 1t
is so sacred that any Chinaman will deny
it's existence, and dares not breathe a
syllable concerning its existence All
Chinese deny that any such society as a
Highlander society exists, but do ad-
nit that there is a sort of Chinese Free
masonry that is sometimes mistaken for
the Hinhbigders. When they get to be
. r,.fa nd