The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-13
THE WORM HAS TURNED,
Chinese Arise in Their Official
Capacities Against the
Police.
SERGEANT COOK IS ACCUSED.
Should His Monaghan Victim Die
international Difficulties
VIII Arise.


Sergeant Cook and the members of the
Chinatown squad are in trouble. They are
accused of brutality, and the Chinese Con.
sulate, Chinese Merchants Exchange and
Chinese Six Companies are arrayed against
them.
1t is the first time in the history of
Chinatown that there has been concerted
action. Indignation has grown SO high
that the assistance of the Chinese Minister
in Washington has been invoked. One of
Sergeant Cooks victims is dangerously i'll,
and should he die the matter will undoubt-
eddy be made an international question.
Apart from that, however, the Consul
General and the attorney for the Six Com
panies have filed complaints with the
Police Commissioners, and an investiga-
ton will be held next Wednesday night.
When seen about the matter yesterday
T. D. Riordan, the attorney for the Six
Companies, said: "Cook has been in China
town two months, and during that time
complaints as to his brutality have been
of daily occurrence. He pokes the Chinese
in the ribs with his cane, punches them in
the face and If he raids place and can
find no trace of gambling having been
carried on, he ticks the men he may find
in the place just for fun. Sergeant Cook
is law unto himself, and in consequence
Courts than any other sergeant who has
been in Chinatown during the past ten
years.
"The case which has raised all China
town against him is that of Chinese whom
he threw downstairs. The Monaghan had
his arm broken and was internally injured.
He was employed in the josshouse on the
Waverly place. Back of the josshouse
there is gambling den, it is true, but it is
reached by separate stairway, and there
is no communication between the gam bling
den and iosshouse. All 10y was leaving
the latter place when he met Sergeant
Cook on the stairway between the second
and third floors. Cook searched him, and,
finding nothing. assaulted the Chinese and
threw him over the banister to the floor
below. Cook says the man was look
out, and that he slipped down the stairs.
Such an idea is preposterous, and l can
prove it.
"These attacks on Chinese have been of
nightly occurrence, and it has got to stop:
If the Police Commissioners and Chief
Crowley will not act the Chinese will make
an international question of it. On April
Is last wrote Chief Crowley complaining
that Cook and his gang were breaking
open houses that had been vacant for
years. referred him to the agents for
the buildings for confirmation. On May
l made another formal complaint as to
Cooks brutality, and III my letter said:
None of the sergeants who have been in
Chinatown during the past fifteen years
i'll treated the Chinese to the extent Ser
geant Cook does. L again repeat the re-
quest that / made some time ago:
that you instruct Sergeant Cook to bear in
mind that the Chinese are human beings,
and should not be handled as if they were
animals
''Since writing to Chief Crowley, Cook and
his posse have committed two outrages
which could not be overlooked, so began
suit for damages against the sergeant.
When he heard of it he went to some of
the Chinese merchants and, after telling
them that Judge Morrow had secured him
the appointment on the police force, told
the merchants he would run them into the
United States District Court and have
them deported if they did not have the
cases dismissed.
81 have prepared a complaint and lodged
it with the Police Commissioners. The
Chinese Consul General has lodged an
other and the Six Companies a third.
Now we intend seeing whether Chinese
can get Justice done him in San Francisco.
We charge Sergeant Cook with seven un-
provoked assaults upon Chinese, and are
prepared to prove them by reputable white
witnesses"
Jee Chong Tone, secretary of the Six
Companies, says the merchants and better
element in Chinatown are indignant over
the manner in which Chinese are treated.
"Consul-General Ii Jung Yew has been
appealed to-" said Jee Chong Tone, "and
if we fail here we will appeal to Washing
ton. This beating of Chinese on the street
hnyx cf1 - 1~a
Gambling and other crimes against the
law should be suppressed and We will help
the authorities, but beating suspected
Chinese because there is no evidence
against him has to be stopped. The Six
Companies are organized for mutual pro-
lection and 1t is time we took some action.
The Merchants Exchange is with us and
we intend to see justice done.
Complaints against Sergeant Cook and
the Chinatown squad reach us every day.
said Consul King Owyang yesterday. 1--WE
have written to Chief Crowley in regard to
Sergeant Cook having thrown Chinese
down flight of stairs and breaking his
arm and internally injuring him. Jee
Chong Tone and myself went to the Re-
ceiving Hospital to see the man, but he
was unconscious, SO we got no statement
1t is nonsense to say the poor fellow
slipped and fell, because the stairs are mar
row and winding and he could easily have
saved himself had he slipped. Great force
was used to throw him downstairs. When
the case comes before the Police Commits
sioners we will produce both white and
Chinese witnesses to support the charges.
ut looks as though Sergeant Cook wants
to make record, but he has gone about it
in a wrong manner. Sergeants who were
never one-half as brutal as he made ten
times more convictions. 1 am free to con-
fess that Sergeant Cook is the most brutal
/, hoI ~ -
The matter will come up before the
Police Commissioners next Wednesday,
and representatives of the Consulate, Mer-
chants Exchange and Six Companies will
be present to see what action is taken. If
in the meantime the Chinese whom Ser
geant Cook is accused of throwing down.
stairs dies, the matter will probably as
sumo the Importance of an international
question.