The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-09-02

| gouged out her eyes If she had not been
| restrained. For two hours the detained
thirteen walled and screeched, tearing
| out their hair and struggling TO escape
like lot of wild things newly Gagged.
| To a certain point Chinese girls in
crease in value as they increase in years.
In the records Of the Chinese mission
airy societies cases are reported where
| girls Of five years have been sold for $500.
! and later sold TO others, until they have
| passed through no less than seven diff
| ferent ownershipS before they have
reached the dens.
| The traffic in these women has been
carried on at this port for over thirty
years. The amount Of money in the
business has appealed powerfully to the
cupidity of corrupt men, Chinese and
American. 1t now costs nearly $1,000 TO
| bring a woman from Hong Kong, and il
| is an open boast in Chinatown that any
woman or girl in China may be landed
/ in San Francisco for this sum. To this
must be added the original cost of the
girl, ranging from 1000 to $1,000, accord
| ing to her looks, while the cost of her
| increase the amount required. The
| Chinese maintain that four out of every
| five women who apply for landing at this
port are slaves, although they are coach
ed and instructed to represent them
selves to be the wives of merchants.
WOMEN IN BONDAGE.
Over one-half of the Chinese women in
San Francisco are in bondage. They
may be divided into two classes. The
first is composed Of those VINO are sold
into slavery for domestic servants. 1t is
the custom in poor Chinese families TO
sell one or two of their daughters to
wealthy families as servants. the price
depending on the personal appearance
of the girl, though about 5000 is the reg
ular appraisement. If the girl is found
10 be in healthy condition, free from
hereditary or infections disease, a con-
tract is drawn up and the parents part
with her for the consideration named in
the bill.
Other stipulations embraced in the bill
OF sale are that the purchaser must pro-
vide her with clothes and food until she
is Of marriageab BILE age, when he is duty
bound to find her husband. Once mar
ried, she comes free. These servants
are employed in the family OF every we'll
to do Chinese, and can be seen around
the streets OF Chinatown at all hours of
the day with an infant strapped to their
backs. Their lot is sometimes better than
that OF children of their own age among
the homes Of the poor, for they are well
fed and sometimes adopted into the fam
lies of their owners
But the ther class, made up Of those
destined to lives Of shame, exist in the
most pitiable and AFFECT misery. Not
from choice do they enter this life. Pun
ishment, the fear of death and theimpos-
sibility OF escape force them to obey the
behests of their masters Most OF the
girls of this class are bought in China
from their poverty stricken parents. No
stipulation being madein thecontract as
to the disposition of the girl, the pur-
chaser is free TO do with her as he
chooses. Now and then a girl is kid
mapped or decoyed from a good home in
the absence of her parents.
Several ways have been devised since
the restriction act went into force to get
these women into the country. One plan
is to land them at Victoria an5 then
smuggle them over the border into the
United States, but ii has been abandoned
for theeasier method of claiming tina the
woman is a native OF this State or the
wife os local merchant, and therefore.
entitled TO land.
When the matter is decided upon. a
letter Of instruction is Forwarded 10
China so that the girl may learn its con-
tents by heart on the way over. Plenty
OF Chinese will be forthcoming on her
arrival 10 swear to state the facts de-
tailed in the letter of instruction, and II
the custom house employees be not too
searching in their inquiries the woman
is landed. She assumes the name OF
some child who was born prior 10 the
enactment OF the exclusion act, and is
taught just what tosay.
TO LIVES OF SHAME.
Once landed, she is placed with fam
lily for few days. and the breaking
down OF her moral sensibilities begins.
Sometimes this is rather difficult. for
some of the caste are naturally virtuous
II she does not soon display Willingness.
her new owner turns her over to the old
hag associated with him in keeping the
den. She is az once dressed in the gaui- |
lest Chinese raimsnt, and is forced 70 !
lead the new life for which her owners !
purchased her.
There are three classes OF slave dens |
where these girls are held in bondage |
At one time they were patroized exclu- |
sively by Chinese. but the race barrier |
has been broken down and the Chinese !
are no. the only visitors Dens OF all (
kinds can be found in the Chinese quar- (
ters. Those os the first grade are bare |
ot the ordinary Furnishings. save to- a +
bunk in the wall and cheap mating On 1
the floor. Such dens line all the smaller 4
alleys OF the Chinese quarte-. and are
noisesoms ard filthy in the extreme (
The second grade IS but slightly advano-
ed IN cleanliness over -ae first. AMI Is
generally on the second floor OF some
large buii5ing Occupied BIZ Chinese TIE
families OF the owners % the slaves o.
ten ocupy the same portion Of he house.
and small children play about the feet
90 visitors. The house % the third class
IS more p-eten;ious in appointment, and
Is the place % which the new ooush
slaves are sent when they enter upon
lives OF shame These places are patron
:zed exclusively BY the better cas- -
Chinese ard arr virtually Inaccessible
70 white people.
Though pezei and vel treated While
.hey are rrsakfnz money. they are sub
49, 4
nent e.: the ca2-ices % their owners
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