The San Francisco call., 1896-10-15
ICONOCLASTS
IN CHINATOWN
Rooms of the See Yup Com
pany Utterly De-
molished.
Chinese Free Masons Have Many
Valuable Placards
Destroyed.
CHINESE CONSUL ACCUSED.
Great Excitement Now Prevails-The
Matter TO Be Investigated by
Legal Talent.
CHINESE CONSUL ACCUSED.

At about 10:30 yesterday morning a
human cyclone in the shape of several
white men armed with clubs struck the
rich and costly apartments OF the See Yup
Company at 500 Clay street, leaving moth
ing but devastation in its wake. And now
a tumultuous complication has arisen, in
which the See Yup Company. the Sam
Yup Company, the law firm of Reddy
Campbell & Metson, the police and the
Chinese Consul, Fung Wing Hong, are
mixed up.
At the time mentioned no Chinese were
on guard in the rooms of the company,
but one lone Celestial was standing in the
hallway. The invaders caught him by
the nape of the neck and the base of the
trousers and pitched him headlong down
the stairs, where he hunted safer cline.
Then the men began their work.
Costly vases were smashed to smither-
Gems, tables overturned and broken,
chairs reduced to kindling-wood, posters
torn from the walls, cuspidores over
turned on the carpeting, josses thrown
from their pedestals and trampled, tea
spilled over everything and few lighter
articles cast into the hallway.
Nothing of any value was spared, ex-
cept the clocks, of which there were three
on the walls, and the cut-glass chande-
hers. Even the certificate of ineorpora-
ton of the See Yups, issued October IA,
1885, was torn from the wall, the glass
front smashed and q large hole punch ed
in the document itself.
By the time the invaders had finished a
vast crowd of Chinese, extending into the
side streets, had gathered and were fran
tically iostling one another in an effort to
get near the scene of the trouble. The
most eager OF them, however, Kept at a
safe distance from the door.
Then the iconoclasts rushed down the
stairs and made off without the identity
OF a single one being established. They
went straight to 1015 Spofford alley, where
Chinese named Ding Hong Cox runs a
sort of boarding-house for cooks on war
vessels, and there proceeded to climb a
fight of stairs, break a handicapped
table and tear several pictures from the
wall.
Bya roundabout route the party went to
Is Waverly place and ascended to the third
floor, where the Ping Kong Ting, or Chi
pese Free Mason's society, is located in
rooms 4S and 81. Here the furn iture was
again unfortunately broken, the pic
lures removed from the wall and demol-
ished and the certificate of incorporation,
issued Mays, 1896, knocked to pieces. Sew
eral valuable silk placards, made by some
notable Chinese dignitary and presented
to the society, were also ruined. These
cannot be re placed.
During the whole of the work of demoli-
ton not clew was obtained as 10 the
identity of the invaders 1t was commonly
supposed at first by others than the Chi
nese themselves that Sergeant Price and
his Chinatown squad had made another
raid in anticipation of a carnival of blood.
shed on the part of the hatchetmen.
Although Sergeant Price was seen in Chi
natown yesterday forenoon he and his
men vigorously deny that they had any,
thing to do with the disturbance. In this
statement they are corroDorated by sew
eral of Sergeant Anderson's men, who
state that the work was done by wholly
irres sponsibie parties.
At the time of the trouble Chief Crow
ley is reported to have been in the office of
Reddy, Campbell d Metson, the See Yup
Company's attorneys, who were endeavor-
ing, in conjunction with the Chief, to
formulate some plan by which the late
murders that have so disgraced the City
might be prevented. On hearing of the
riotous proceedings il Chinatown the
head of the police force went up to see for
himself. He made no comments what
ever.
Attorney Campbell then went up in per-
son ana interviewed MS Chinese clients
tor some time in the afternoon. All he
would say was that somebody will have to
pay dearly for their frolic. An emissary
of the firm was also present in the after
noon with photographer, who took sew
eral views of the scene of devastation.
Loud threats were made by this gentle
man, who laid the whole blame of the &C.
currence on the Chinese Consul, Fung
Wing Hong.
This theory of the Consul being the
cause of the irruption is the only one con-
sidered tenable by the Chinese. They
assert that Fung Wing Hong has been an
active partisan In the See Yup- Sam Yup
boycott, and has always favored the lat
ter whenever he got a chance. They be-
lieve that he hired the men to do the
work.
Dong Tying, the Chinese Police Court in
terpreter, in conversation with CALL re-
porter, made the statement that not long
ago the Consul offered Chief Crowley
$4,000 If he would use his influence to
Iorce the See Yups to 'let up on their
weaker brethren. When Tying found out
the vocation OF the person to whom he
had been talking, he denied the truth of
what he had said. Afterward, Lee Won
Sue, the president of the See Yup Com
pany, confirmed what Tying had asserted.
That the Chief would entertain no such
idea IS proved by later events.
The persons connected with the Orien tai
saloon, directly beneath the scene of the
trouble, claim to know none OF those who
participated in the affair. According to
their story they did not even take the
trouble to see what was going on.