The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1897-03-10

tween two evils. Under tie Chinese law,
where an agent embezzles, puts his money
in the name of his wife, mother, father,
brother or any one else, all of these and
their relatives likewise become liable for
the debt and all the expenses the creditor
or the authorities are obliged to incur. In
American law an insolyent can laugh at
his creditors, who see him driving in car
rage and living in a palace belonging to
his wife, to whom he has presented these
things.
Chinese credit is, of course, based upon
the Chinese system and would be impossi-
BILE under American commercial law
Most Cinnamon obey their own laws in
this country, but few have taken advan-
tage of American laws to fleece, swindle
and rob their own people. In one case in
New York the treasurer of a Chinese wild
Ow and orphans fund spent all the funds
gambling. The matter was brought up
before the agent of the Six Companies and
the man was sentenced to make the sum
good in one year. He laughed at the no
tice, sent an insulting message to the pow
erful organization whose funds he had mis-
| appropriated and kept on in his career of
dehauchery. Exactly at the expiration of
the year he was found dead in bed.
In another instance two dishonest Chi
nese merchants of Sacramento misappro-
priated the earnings of some 20 poor min
ers, who desired to transmit them to their
I wives and children at home A similar
order was given, and as it was known that
the merchants had property and were able
to make good the sums stolen the notice
was for go days. The men put themselves
hnder the protection of the police and con-
terted their places into small fortresses. 1t
was of no use, however, because within
| three weeks after the notice expired they
were both found dead one morning, and
there was no clew as to who had commit
| ted the crime
! On account of the competition in bank
| ing and the growth of banking relations
between this country and China the bank
| ing business of the Six Companies began
to fall off very seriously ten years ago and
has kept steadily decreasing ever since.
While the Chinese are very good local
bankers, they are very poor foreign bank
ers, and in this way they have been unable
to compete with such powerful eastern cor
porations as the HOngkOng and Shanghai
Banking corporation the National Bank
of China, the Bank of India, China and
| Australia and other institutions.
This cut away the best part of their bust
ness. The anti Chinese law of this cOun-
| try and Canada destroyed another prof1ta-
! BILE field. The failure of the Panama canal
was a blow which cost them at least q
! quarter of a million dollars. The substi-
tuition of japanese for Chinese laborers in
| the Sandwich Islands was fourth catas-
trophe and the anti Chinese agitation in
the South American republics was fifth.
To this may be added the hard times of the
past three years. the war between China
and Japan, and the encroachment of Japa-
nese merchants and bankers into nearly
every one of their commercial fields.
They made brave fight to keep on, and
were compelled to increase charges in
many of their departments. This aroused
antagoRism among their own people, which
expressed itself in protest from the great
provincial societies and industrial unions
| These are entirely independent of the Six
Companies, the former referring to the
province from which the members come
and resembling such societies as the St.
Andrew, St. George and Ohio societies,
while the latter are simply benevolent and
protective guilds like the Friendly Sons
of St. Patrick or the Royal Arcanum.
-Four provincial societies, composing the
lie Yup or Say Yup, which consists of the
Ming Yung, Kong Chow, Hop Hoo and
Shu Hing, withdrew their support and
started counter organization two years
ago
There has been bitter fight between
the Six Companies and the -Four Com
panies' organizations, but the latter has
come out ahead. In the past six months it
hoe baan iOined nv fine TOny Gee Tong
which is the largest industrial union of
Cinnamon in the country. Margherita
Arlina Hamm in New York Mail and Elk