River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1899-08-17
THE SIX COMPANIES.
They Constitute the Most Powerful
Trust Ever Formed.
Functions of the Chinese Combine
Explained by an Educated Mon
soIian-Truc Meaning of the
Term .sHighbinder.,
Isnecial washIngton Letter.l

It seldom happens to one of our people
an educated Chinaman, one who canuse
the English language with facility.
Therefore it was a treat for the writer
to recently spend an hour in CONVERSE
ton with polished and cultured gen
tleman of that race, who told many
new and interesting things about his
country and his people.
In reply 10 an inquiry concerning the
Six Companies and the "Highbinders"
he gave an elaborate description of
them, which is herewith reproduced
from memory. In newspaper there
appeared a dispatch concerning the
threat of one Chinaman against an
other, the threat of death, unless $500
should be paid to ''highbinder." The
newspaper account gave no particulars,
and the average reader would suppose
that brigandage was carried ON by
highbinders, and with the consent of
the people in the Chinese quarter.
Whenever any act of violence is
committed by Chinaman it is Gus
tomary in this country to attribute it
10 a highlander, when, as a matter OF
fact, highbinders are not guilty of any
injustice, and certainly are not re
sponsible for brigandage or lawlessness
of that character. But first let us I'M
derstand the Six Companies; then we
can understand the highbinders better.
When you read in the newspapers po-
litical editorials denouncing trusts,
and when you hear orators of all po-
litical parties shouting themselves
hoarse and growing red in the face
and big in the neck with their patriotic
declarations, you may understand that
they are denouncing something older
than America, as factor in the affairs
of the world. Long before Columbus
secured the support which enabled him
to cross the ocean and discover this con-
tinent; and long before Eric the Red
sailed from Iceland to the coast of Mas
sachusetts, trusts" were in vogue in
China. This shows that there is moth
ing new under the sun.
The Six Companies constitute a
''trust," and powerful combination it
is, too. Just how old it is cannot be
stated, although, of course, the branch
in this country has been in existence
but limited number of years. But
trusts" have existed in China from
time immemorial. Long before there
was any Fourth of July to celebrate
in this country the Chinese were max
ing gunpowder, and making firecrack-
ers, and the goods were disposed of by
trust"
This Six Companies trust was or
gained by merchants for their own
betterment. 1t became necessary be-
cause competition was strong, and
ruinous to trade. There was one body
of merchants doing business in Hong
Kong, and there were five companies
doing business in Canton. They were
constantly cutting prices, and under
mining each other, until they all real
lied that ruin was before them; and so,
for self-protection and advancement,
they pooled their issues and formed the
Six Companies, the strongest trust
in the world. OF course they shut out
of business many smaller dealers; but
that is one of the results of the law
of the survival of the fittest, and the
Chinese recognize that law spontane-
ously.
The headquarters of the Chinese Six
Companies are in Canton, and the
American headquarters are at San