New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-07
rur SIX COMPANIES RETIRE
.,.rr POWERFUL CHINESE CORPORA
- TON LOSES IT'S GRIP.
- FORMERLY CONTROLLED EVERY cHINAMAN
N TIE UNITED sTArEs-ITs METHODS

81
,,.o5 business in the United states was the
eo"U- ,roonlzation known as the Chinese Six
C,,,,os which began to wind up its affairs
III, TWO wears ago after n career extending over
- az, wears and went out Of existence with
~ hor,nnlne Of the Chinese Now Year on February
nv, chief clements Of strength or me SIX COM
J. - we've the ignorance of the people with whom
- seal, and ;he amount OF money which was at
az Command collectively. The societies were or
ne" e' tor .hc purpose Of aiding such Chinese az
gam iu,c 20 seek n livelihood in the United
..s 70 leave their country and receive transpoT-
-, N the Pacific Coast of this country. In re-
- for the free transportation TO America the
rni,anan made a contract with the company 10
~ certain amount every month until the oblga-
lr as cancelled. and to buy his supplies rs far
"" ,ss,ble from the agents OF the company in the
o. whore he might live. In return for this the
'.. -, agreed 10 protect him aCains; his Amcri-
N enemies and in case he died, to nave MS
...ss sent back TO his ancestral home
chinese writer on the subject Of the Six Com
- cows that the Chinese clan organizations
I.,h ,,iav an important par, in their country. had
- ., do with the Six Companies Every China
a, belongs 10 a clan. and wherever he goes he
Us an effort TO he near members OF the branch
m which he belongs. The first managers CT the
- C,,,ror,;cs knew that and made arrangements
-. ,bose who came which would be agreeable to
.no new citizens and to give them cause to unite
.ra,rst the efforts Of the Americans. The writer
- inrs;rate ;hc clan spirit. says:
.,,. have nh heard more less about the sam
% l-rl,reo Districts and tho See zap Four Dis
..,,,s, pcople ~ dialect. IN Hong Kong or in Can
., ,bo Sam Yap people generally associate win
80 sam yap people. and the Soc Nap with the See
-, T,oy make such distmctiors among them
60 .,e, I'm China. largely owning to the fact
,ne~ dialects are so different from each other.
49,, a., s,r,e customs the people Of different districts
differ slightly. ..u.
To clans represented IN the Six Companies were
-. Wing Yung Hop Wo. Kong Chow. Young 10.
- Van and Yang Woo The society was small
- e~st and transacted all is business In one
,,r, lin Sacramento-st.. San Francisco. but il soon
,o,aroo the headquarters for the whole Chine7e
,,,,,ation Of America. When n ship landed al san
r-,,osco there were wagons az the wharf IN whlch
-. newcomers and their baggage. if they had any,
r-,ro transported 20 Chinatown. y place to sleep
go and wood were furnished by the company Tor
40 month and then the newcomer was sent 10
wi en- The mines. on the road or. Il he had any
,o,cv or was Of the better class. and there was
q, opening he started as an assistant III a
laundry But every newcomer reported 10 the
s,,iety-even those who did not require help ana
t,1 relatives or friends who would entertain
,ser and every one became source OF revenue IN
r.e,t,- with his ability TO earn money. The de-
.,oders OF the Six Companies. who say That they
were Organized only as protection TO the Chinese
against the Americans. and that money MAKING
vas not one OF It's objects declare that the chlel
source OF revenue was the money paid into the
treasury by Chlhameh WHO 4S.' '''0
China. e.
.rrbe amount that each individual had to pay,
SAYS the historian varied during different periods
For long time each Chlnaman who went 10 emma
maid So Of which s3 went 10 the Meeting nan ol
tie Middle KINGDOM 50 to the society to which
he belonged and g toward shipping the ashes OF
dead Cbinanlan 10 China" The organization made
60 much headway financially. that at the time OF
the Johnstown disaster II contributed M'Vp 10 tle
relief fund and later sent much larger sum 10
the famine district in China.
As the Chinese population grew and became scat
tered all over the country. the influence OF the
sx Companies waned. Men found members OF
THAR clan in places far away from the chief once
~ the Six Companies and formed societies OF thelr
own In 1894 seven societies had been organlHeu'
which were all Independent of the SIX CouP"iieS'
The officers of the society were elected. DuIlhs
The carly period term was named put l"tei
sac.ions were held annually, in order 10 satisi! III"
,.~,o,,s clans and Il was understood that there
should be rotation IN Office 50 that each can is'
bava \ wear of administrative power ana gIoI!
Thai office and power were abused by some oi s"e
CIV Cooonanies people was shown by the act o. a
,renber OF the Clan Wong VINO was eiecte" so''o''
Interpreter a few years ago
",f,er he was in Office for some time writes
Fonr Kun Ngon, he quietly sold the building anu
1ot NJ the society and went back TO emma WIN '.le
money. Perhaps the newspapers lePor'eu '"0 "-'
b,,+ no Chinaman could read the paper 80 az -
detect the crime. No Chinese knew anything aoo''
the transaction until the buyer came to demand
- .,,,d,,e AZ soon as the Chinese found out
49,. Tho nronertv had been sold TO this man they
4vnlajned the matter and repaid the money TO the
h,iyer and got the property back. Inc Hehioeis Vi
TIE Wong clan had 10 take the responsibility Vi
having back 10 the society the sum IN iuiL mus
.or one mans crime the whole clan paid the
1T, as they would have had 10 do in China -
Tba large merchants and the Chinese Consuls
rore ALWAYS extremely reticent as 10 the methods
o. the Six Companies. and although they were al
vavs ready to deny any reports as TO the lnlporta
lion OF slaves TO the United States. they would give
M rforration as 10 the inner workings Of the pow
a., svndicate This fact save color TO the report
~. all Chinese officials In the United states were
subsiIized by the Six Companies. ana derived a
larger revenue from that source than from thei'
consular Offices ,,, 49,. {. mas Moons
sarv that the Cinnamon who did business in mn
country should recognize higher Chsse Su ca';e
lie American authorities would nave NJ pow SfI
IN some Of the cases which 'It "s sottia Eor In.
s,snte A Chinaman borrows money IRON ne
ryigh0or. IL does not give hIS h h9' should Ireal
his promise The laws OF this country wGuia Sorn
pei The who furnished inc bdo - no D"te nt
nothing The Chinese hnow the syS1e Nm S nav ' ~
defined him at san Francisco when ne tIieH t'
The Chinese Consul in New-York: when 3 1.Ih,
efou, INC great corpora don, sara mat ne kHyN
Yofbirg ana referred The inquirer to one OF th'
largest merchants in Mot'st WHO also Pbownver
Ia, si no mcrchants had settled their account
with the Six Companies last Noycm0gr t 5Ie ~
The Chinese Consul and that WINE sonc .Ir .il'
srenfs ~ the new -Four Companies corporation '"'
greater number are independent - Tho ro,re
Tho new syndicate is composed OF tnc " u,
sentayes of The four principal organlzi'ighs Nh
lgug Hop No. Kong CHOW ana Gnu H'"b' ""'
they form the See zap Federation. o, Cor,,orie.
II has been estimated that the SIX Ncli ,ro
aided nearly 5000 persons 10 come TO ltsS SI' y,
equal number j. SIN on the American conllhth
and no balance returned 70 CHINA. Amois -, 49,
causes Cor mo decline and final disruption OF III
Six Companies were the Chinese Exclusion , aG,
Mc failure Of The Panama Canal ana tne sneTics
sn,aconisrn 10 Chinese labor in South AntiiCh
lacsc and the falling of in the banking bushes
f1.-e- mo n.cc uOMcrlul corpoIatlon Oul VI ~