The San Francisco call., 1896-02-13
ANOTHER CUSTOM
HOUSE SCANDAL.
Sixteen Chinese Women
Unlawfully Landed at
This Port.
OFFICIALS ARE ACCUSED.
Inspectors Said to Have Re-
ceived Eight Thousand
Dollars.
THE CASE AGAINST WILLIAMS.
Treasury Agent Moore Hot on the
Trail of the Suspects in the
Gigantic Swindle.

There is another scandal brewing IN Gus
TOM house circles. 1t is the result of
wholesale charges of landing Chinese
women for immoral purposes, aud made
by agents of the United States Treasury
against certain customs inspectors and
other officials in high standing. These
charges have been filed with the Secretary
of the Treasury at Washington, and it is
expected that the accused persons will be
put on the rack at once. Special Agent
Moore is not on their trail, and while he is
silent as to his course of action il the
matter, it is known that he is in possession
of damaging information against inspec-
tors, apart from Williams.
1t is known that within the last three
months sixteen Chinese woman have been
landed in San Francisco on the ground that
they were native daughters of the State.
All these women are now inmates OF dis
reputable houses in Chinatown. The
declaration is made that they are all ma
tlyes OF China and were brought here by
those engaged in the traffic for the special
purpose in which they are now employed
These women were landed from the
regular incoming Chinese steamers and
landed on certificates sworn out by
Chinese witnesses and passed through
connivance of certain Customs house
authorities. The majority of the young
women We're assigned to Lee Gee and Lee
Hoy and a few went to Little Pete"
The latter was greatly annoyed because
of the unequal division of the fair daugh-
tiers from the Orient, and finally quarreled
with his rivals in the business. Conse-
quently the Cinnamon, having disagreed
among themselves, talked quite freely
with outsiders regarding the importing of
the girls. In this way it leaked out that
$500 had been paid the Custom-house
rim G for the landing of each girl, or $4,000
IN all. These are the facts now III the pos
session of the United States Treasury De-
par tment, and interesting developments
are promised at an early date.
There is much speculation about the
Fed eral building as to who the accused
persons are. The fact that Chinese Inter
prefer Williams is charged with almost
everything on the calendar in respect to
the landing of Chinese women for ques-
tioneble purposes is generally known.
Special Agent.Moore made the complaint
against him. The case is now before the
Government authorities at Washington.
Wong Sam, who was the chief witness
against Williams, was arrested on CON-
plant OF a Chinese woman named Dong
! Sun Yet, who deposeS that Wong Sam,
Toy Duck and All Ling brought her here
from China last fall and placed her in a
den in the Chinese quarter.
The woman declares she Is native of
| China. The strange feature of this case is
| that Williams and others in the service
knew the facts of the unlawful landing of
| the girl months ago, but took no action in
| the matter. She was taken from the den
| by the missionaries and given chance to
reform. She EN- braced the opportunity
and is now leading a respectable existence.
| In regard to the arrest of Wong Sam
United States District Attorney Eoote
| feels as though he had been i'm posed upon
| Had he known that there was an investi-
| CATION pending in which the Chinese was
| the principal witness he would never have
| sanctioned his arrest. AS it is, when the
| facts of the case were explained to him he
at once went before United States Com
| missioner Heacock and had the man re-
leased on $3.50 bail. No one in the Dis
| trict Attorneys Office will talk, but il is
pretty we'll known in the Federal building
that District Attorney Foote will recon-
mend the dismissal of the charge and that
! the Attorney General will follow his
| advice.
| According to gentleman well versed in
| the case, the charges against Wong Sam
are five months old. All the facts have
been in the possession of Collector Wise
for half year. but it was only when
charges were preferred against Interpreter
r. Williams by the said Wong Sam that the
| charges were raked up and used. 1t is this
fact that has made the United States Dis
trict Attorney angry, and the communica-
tions between his office and that of the
Collector yesterday were anything but ami
cable.
Whether Wong Sam comes TO trial or
not, there is one. thing certain, his case
| will not be heard for several 6eeks.
The scandal that has been brewing in
the Custom house for months is about to
get an airing and the Chinese will have
many things to tell about the landing of
Chinese women that will interest the Fed
eral authorities. special Agent of the
Treasury Moore and District Attorney
Foote are keeping the wires hot with dis
patches to Washington, and an investiga-
tion, in which two special agents now on
the way here will play al important part,
| will soon be under way.
Two years ago Wong All Tie, an 11-year-
| old girl born at Pedro Point, daughter of
| Wong How, and oeing member of the
| Wong family, therefore, relative of
| Wong Sam, whose private family name Is
| Wong Tie, went to China. Wong Sam,
acting as her Chinese agent, made out her
| certificate.
| slave traders, the certificate of Wong All
| Tie was obtained possession OF and used
to bring another woman, six years older,
| to this country.
The substitute woman arrived on Eovem-
| Der 81, 1895. 1t is assumed that some one
in the Chinese Bureau or Custom-house
! altered the figures by q little stroke of the
pen, so that the figure IL was changed to
| IT. The original photograph was elimi-
| mated and one of the substitute women was
put on the certificate in its place. Thus
| was the substitute woman brought here
| and landed as one of Wong Sans slaves,
and a 19-year-old woman came on certif-
case belonging to 13-year-old girl.
| Inspector Williams gave it out that
| Wong Sam had imported the woman,
whereas Wong Sam says he had nothing
| to do with her and never went to the
steamer to meet her on its arrival at this
port.
There are two Wong Sans in Chinatown.
| One--the one arrested-is the business
| representative of several Chinese mercan-