The Portland daily press., 1894-02-21
BESGARS IN CHINA,


They Haze Kings and Cabinets ami Ruls
With an Iron Hand.
The Chinese, though heathen, are more
charitable than they have been given cred
it for. Theygive freely, especially on oc-
casions of public or private rejoicing.
Beggars are numerous everywhere and
are organized into a sort of union, or
guild, with the boss at the head. whose
word is law te his mendicans subjects and
whose laws are as unohanging as those OF
the Medes and Persians No man can be
buried without large share of funeral
baked meats falling to the lot of the beg
gars' guild. No person is allowed to marry
by this powerful union unless he or his
friends pay lribute to the king of the
beggars in the shape of feast and a sum
of money. The last varies from few dol
lars to few hundred according to the
means of the tribute payer. The feast must
consist of as good stuff as is served to the
wedding guests On this the beggar king
and his ca binet dine with as much gusto
if not as much ceremony as the emperor
of China when feasting his ministers. In
almost every city you will find this inn
perium, or imperio, of beggars' guild.
The subjects of any one king vary in num-
Der, according TO the size of the city
These kings of China's submerged mil
lions, whose territories consist of streets,
cutters, bridges and doorsteps and whose
subjects have been won for him by poverty,
accident, vice and disease, exercise patri-
archal sway and dispense rough and
primitive justice. The Office is not hered-
itary, but elective andrtenable for life.
The beggar king lives in house that is
almost palace compared to the miserable
shelter that his subjects have to be con-
tented with. Not infrequently he grows
rich from the tribute paid him by the peo-
pie of the upper crust of society. He has
powerful means for enforcing his demands.
He has means of annoyance which the po-
lice are unable to put stop to. Suppose
man about to marry refuses to recognize
the claim of the beggar king. His wedding
procession will be blocked by thousands
of lame, blind, halt and leprous beggars,
who will ease their minds by imprecations
such as are unfit for q bride to hear and
will be sure to bring i'll luck on the mar
ried couple Else this unseemly rabble
will besiege the house of the unlucky bride
groom and go through similar perform
ance It is worth large sum to be rid OF
such pests.
Even the magistrates, autocrats as they
are in their own realms, respect the office
of the beggar king and never offend him
if they can avoid it.
Ordinarily beggars go from house to
house and from store to store with bowl
in hand into which is poured the handful
of rice or is dropped the copper coin Of
charity. They are irrepressible and will
not take no for an answer. So ofttimes
they fill store with hideous cries and
make unsightiy exhibitions of their de-
formities in order to extort small aims
from the reluctant stoTckenper.
Food left over from mrt = is looked on
as the beggars portion. tumbs that fall
from the rich mans tal,l and the rem
nants of Dives feast are int.Htrtiaily dis
tributed to the Lazlrrses at the door.
The beggars inChina may be said to
lead life of ease and careless animal en-
joyments. II disease will let up It's attacks
on them, they may be said to be happy
even.-St. Louis Republic.