The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-01-06
No More Temporary Landing
Permits.
WHAT M YOU's CASE EXPOSED
Members of Crews of China Vessels
Permitted to Land on Small
Bonds.

bers of the crews of Pacific Mail steam
ships from the Orient have been illegally
landed in this city within the last five
years and that Chinese lRbOrers here who
wanted to return home have been substi-
tuted in their place. Collector Wise be-
lieves it. as is shown by the orders issued
by him when the ship Gaelic, the last
China steamer to arrive, reached this port
United States District Attorney Garter
and Special Agent of the Treasury Evans
believe it, and what is more they expect to
prove the truth Of their suspicious when
the case of Ng You comes to trial.
The case Of Ng You was called before
Commissioner Heacock yesterday morn
ing. but was continued until Thursday
next at 10 O'Clock in order to secure the
attendance Of important witnesses. The
case was mentioned last week. but at the
time little attention was paid to il. 1t was
as follows: Wong All Jeong. a Chinese
laborer here. having accumulated $3.50 in
Mexican coin, wanted to go home to re-
main. He packed his trunk. putting his
fortune IN it. and went TO the Pacific Mail
dock 10 go aboard The steamship Oceanic
as steerage passenger On the
dock Ng You, a member of the Chinese
crew of the ship Rio de Janeiro, which had
arrived 10 port the day before, met All
home I'll send you on the Rio de Janeiro
as one of her crew and you can work your
way home. / will bring man who is now
a member of the crew ashore and he Will
go right up to Chinatown and will stay
there, but he will give you his permit. and
after an hour you will take his permit and
go aboard and stay on the ship and do his
work. Your trunk will have to go on the
Oceanic. as the man / will land would not
dare bring any baggage ashore and you
can take none on the boat"
The arrangement was made. Ng You
went on board the Rio, and soon after
man came ashore who gave his permit to
Wong All Jeong, who. later on, walked uu
the gang-pIank aboard the Rio. presented
TO the Customs Inspector the permit origi-
nally given to the other Chinese and By
HIM transferred 10 Wong All Jeong, and
was allowed to 60 aboard without ques-
ton, thus becoming a member of the crew.
Wong worked on the ship for several
DAYS and then ascertained that his trunk,
containing his fortune of $500 in Mexican
silver, had not been sent home on the
Oceanic, but had been stolen from the
dock. He at once went to one of the Gus
toms inspectors and told him the whole
story through the officia! Interpreter r.
Williams. search was made for Ng
You, the Chinese who had worked the
substitution and who should have been on
board of The ship Rio with Wong All
JeOng, but he could not be found. Finally.
after several days search. Ng You was
located in Oakland and arrested on the
charge of having aided in Illegally landing
Chiese. The additional charge of steal
ing $500 from Wong All JeOng being re-
served until after his examination in the
United States courts.
When the matter came to the notice of
United S ates District Attorney Garter he
at once informed Collector Wise of his
discoveries and an investigation was set
on foot. 1t was found that for years a
system had been in vogue whereby men,
bers OF the Chinese crews of steamships
had been allowed to land on what is
known as Temporary certificates"
In other words, a Chinese who had been
employed or who was able to have certi-
fed that he had been employed for any
length OF time on the Chinese steamships
running into this port was allowed to send
to the CuStom-hOuse, through a broker.
statement of his service and obtain from
that office by the filing OF bond in $500
by his broker a certificate. This certi-
ticate he held. and when the ship on which
be was employed arrived in port here he
was permitted tn 60 ashore by surrender
ing his certificate and obtaining from the
customs inspectors slip known as "a
gangway permit" This slip bore his name
and the number of his temporary certi-
fcate, and after being up in Chinatown all
night or on he dock an hour or two, as
the case might be, he would return to the
ship. and as he walked up the gangDlank
get from the inspector his slip, given him
in lieu of the permit Issued by the Custom
house on the $500 bond. and then " hen the
ship was ready to sail the customs in
spectOr holding the temporary Custom
house certificates would summon the crew,
and to such of them as held the gang
way permits" he would return the certi-
fcates issued by the Custom house when
the 5000 bond had been furnished.
1t was found that only one man, Joseph
Marks. had been engaging extensively in
securing temporary permits for members
of the crews of China steamers who had
no legal right to land. Ii was also found
by questioning the Chinese. that from So
to S25 apiece paid to Mr.. Marks for
obtaining those temporary permits, and II |
was further found that Mr.. Marks him
self qualified In $500 in each case as bond
for the safe return Of the Chinese to whom |
the temporary certificates were issued. On
the steamer Rio de JaneirO alone he quail |
fed as bOndsman in nineteen cases, one Of |
which, IL is alleged. was the case in which |
the substitution of Wong All Jeong for the
real member OF the crew was made.
Seine OF the temporary certificates issued |
originally bore the photographs OF the |
mem bers of the crew using them. but many |
OF them bore only the name, occupation |
and ships number OF the Chinese to whom |
tlficates were returned TO the Chinese to |
whom they had been issued and that they
carried them back and forth to China |
voyage after voyage. and the further fact
that when the men used them and went
ash ore the permits given were mere slips
of paper, decided Collector Wise 10 stop
the whole temporary permit system. In
other words. it was argued, and has I'M
doubleday been the case in number of
instances. that Chinese who was a men,
Der OF a crew on China steamship and
desired to land here could easily do so and
substitute man in his place. If caught,
which under the loose system was hardly
possible, as proved in the Ng You-Wong
An JeOng case, the only thing that could
be done would be to arrest the substitutes,
who would plead innocent, as Wong All
JeOng does, and forfeit the bond of $500.
which is less money than the Chinese
u-ually pay for landing man whom they
want landed.
Port Steward Smith of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company was the only witness
examined yesterday in the Ng You case.
He testified that Chinese members of the
crew constantly went ashore for greater
or less length of time; that he had been
told they paid for the privilege. Whether
or not the same men who went ashore re-
N cd RI hi ha