The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-01-14
WIVES OF CHTNAMEN.
DEPLORABLE lNTERMARRlAGES OF
WHITE GIRLS AND MoNGOLIHNS.

Sociological Students in San Francisco
and Elsewhere Are Face to Face With
a Grave Problem-The Terrible Fate
Endured by Confiding Women.
| Nowhere in the world is there such
a striking commingling of diametri-
cally opposite races as there exists to-
day in the Chinese quarter of San
Francisco, writes Lucie F. Pierce.
Nowhere has the Monaghan race so
persistently intermarried With ma
tionalities of the white race. No.
where have white women who venture
to enter into such a contract s., lost
their caste, their station in society,
without friendly tie of either clan
or country, as they have within the
limits of the California city.
| Marriage between whites and Chi
nese is increasing to an astonishicg
extent. Nearly one hundred cases are
now known to exist. This is not
large, of course, in comparison with
the number of Chinese in the city.
Indeed, that number is small. But it's
significance is terrifying. In that lies
the problem.
Contemplate for moment what a
white woman surrenders when she
marries Chinaman. First of all, she
must abandon all association with her
relatives. She is forced to this en- ac-
count of the wide breach which ex-
lists between the races She not only
must cast aside all filial ties, but she
must sever forever all connection with
the whole white race. When she
abandons her race she abandons her
caste. And when she loses her caste
she loses her country. She becomes
social outclst. She has lowered her.
self from the ranks of a progressive,
Cultured race to those of a vile, I'M
clearly, semi-civiI,Zed horde, weak
mentally ard morally. She has lost
all that would make patriotic woman,
loyal to whatever national flag, thrill
with the deepest feeling.
And the gain? Why, there is no
gain. 1t is all loss. She secures a
husband but she loses pride. She Sc
cures a miserable home, and she loses
forever what a woman holds most
dear, her name.
At any moment we may expect to see
her celestial husband wind his pig
tail around his yellow, shaver head,
and depart for China, leaving her
without means of support, cast upon
the world, a despised and ignored
creature. At any time, living in the
midst of disease breeding filth, the
husband may be carried off by death.
He may leave some landed property
or the merchandise of shop, or few
bags of gold coin. Naturally one
would think that she who had surren-
dered everything that is precious ard
noble in life for her Chinese husband
would reap the benefit of all this and
receive the heritage due her. Not SO.
No white woman ever inherited
dollar of Chinaman's wealth. 1t goes
to the beloved uncles and parents and
brothers and sisters in the big flow
cry kingdom over the water, and the
white woman is ;eft to starve
Hated and spurr ed in America, she
may seek the shores of her husbands
country and throw herself upon The
mercy and leniency of his fam ly there.
She, who had once been superior to
them in intellect, in form, in beauty,
in morality, in instinct, receives not
even the respect Of equal to equal
There have been cases where white
women have married Christianizad
Mongolians. Marriage in this case is
sacred, binding, legal. There have
been a few such that have turned out
happily.
Strange as it may seem, major
ity of the women who marry Chinese
have sprung from Scandinavian, Ger-
man or Russian Iarentage. 1t seems
that the yellow hair and the blue
eyes of the buXom northern beauties
appeal particularly to the Monaghan
race. The rosy complexion and grace
of white women astonishes and at
tracts them. No Chinaman will marry
a woman of his own race If he can
prevail upon white woman to accept
marriage
If the Chinaman will consent to be-
come Christian and give Up some OF
the marital privileges of his native
land, they are looked upon as respect
able members of the community. The
woman really gains nothing by this;
neither does she lose. She is taking
chances neither way. And the Chi
nese husband and father rises some
what in the nature of his instincts,
one step in the ladder of advancement,
But this has not been the happy out
come Of all the intermarriages which
have taken place. Only a rare few
have consented to accent Christianity.
And white women persist in throwing
themselves away on these pagan in.
CRATES. Mission workers plead with
them and still they persist in entering
into unions that end eventually in
utter degradation and social degener=
acy. If they are not strong enough
to resist the attent ons of pagan ce-
lestial they are 70 strong enough to
withstand his awf i vices. Let them
step out into the by-way of a pagan
marriage and they have chosen the
road to everlasting social damnation.
The end is generally violent death.