The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-06
Sunday afternoon, and of the ecclesias- tical society Monday evening, January 13, at D. m.
THE CHINESE AMONG US.
Some Popular Errors About Them CoI
 rected

Some Popular Errors About Them Cor
 rected
 It Is the general impression among
 Americans that the Chinese in this
 country are parsimonious. This is not
 the case. The Chinese have earned
 enormous amounts of money, to be sure,
 but they have also spent largely Their
 savings may be estimated as not more
 than ten per cent. of what they earn.
 which is very often permanently invest
 ed in this country, and does not go to
 China. Laborers seldom save any
 thing, and this is as true of the Chinese
 as of other nationalities. Tn the first
 place, the Chnaman is usually charged
 more for what he buys than any one
 else, and again he is inclined to be a
 spendthrist when he can. He is an ep-
 icure in his own way. He is also fond
 of silk clothes and expensive shoes.
 Very often he is a gambler The actual
 needs of the Chinaman are greater in
 thos country than in China. The eli
 mate in the Kwang- g-tung provinces is
 so mild that all he requires at home is
 a thin cotton blouse and trousers, and
 two extra garments for winter. His
 hat is of roughly plaited straw, and he 1 wears straw plaited sandals. In this
 country, he must wear woolen under l clothing, felt hat and leather boots, if a labored. His boots in America cost four or five times as much as his whole outfit in China
 The food bought by the Chinese is often quite as expensive as that of the whites. Instead of living almost alto gether on rice and chop sooy, as is the general impression, Chinamen being quite as fond of meat as Americans, buy pork, beef and chickens Chop sooy is made to sell to curious white persons who visit Chinatown. In the vicinity of every large city where there is any considerable Chinese col ony there are truck gardens devoted to raising vegetables exclusively for Chi namen from seed brought from their native land These vegetables are un- known to Americans. But the Chinese also consume large quantities of the finer kinds of American vegetables. The Chinaman has a sweet tooth also; and in the best Chinese restaurants in San Francisco New York; Chicago and other large cities the best of wines are l served to Chinese as we'll as American customers, together with the finest and ! most expensive foods. In the average | Chinese restaurant in those cities good l board can be had by the Chinese for | from fifteen to twenty dollars a month, | and these restaurants are largely pa 1 tronized. As a rule, the Chinamen are 1 compelled to lodge in mean quarters; | but in New York and San Francisco | there are a number of well-appointed | homes. occupied by the families of we'll to-do Chinese merchants, which the American seldom or never sees. In New York there is an apartment house, up-t date in every respect, occupied by Chinese families. The Chinaman sticks as closely as he can to the tra- ditions and customs of his country, which are strange to the Occidental, and, therefore, a subject for comment and often for derison.
 There are not many rich Chinamen in America; but some of them are very well off, with fortunes ranging from one hundred thousand to five hundred dollars. There is one multi Chin Tan Sun, who is the ' richest Chinaman in the country. Chin Tan Sun owns whole towns and em plOyS nunQTeQS or Wnlle men ana WO- | men in his factories and canneries. He owns ranches, city real estate, gold mines and diamonds; he runs lottery games; he imports lahorers; he con- ducts a real estate business; and he has several merchandise stores in San Francisco. He is a self-made man and { very shrewd and progressive. He came ! to America in the steerage as lad, ind went to work in a kitchen. He married a white woman, and with their I savings they Originated little lot tery" business in San Francisco. He | was largely patronized by Americans and soon grew rich enough to become a merchant also. From this beginning he developed into commercial and politi- gal power. He is called Big Jim on account of his size. He is six feet tall md a -proportioned, good looking nan. In business he is regarded as the ;oul of honor His wardrobe is mag | , lificent, and several valets are needed o care for it.-Sunyowe Pang in the / Forum. |I l