Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-20
WAYS THAT ARE DARK
Enforcing immigration Laws
Along Canadian Border.
INCIDENTS OF SERVICE
HOW COMMISSIONER SARGENT
oUTWITTED TIE RING
Detention Stations and Bertillon Lab
oratories Established at Our Ports
Where Chinese Enter.
INCIDENTS OF SERVICE

WI mere CnlneSe Enter.
Copyright 1905 by John Elfreth watkins)
Written for The Star.
(which | wish to remark
And my language is plain,
And for tricks that rain
The heather Chinee is peculiar
Which the same | would rise to explain"
Bret Harte.
1t would seem that the government can
al last boast of man able to euchre the
heather Chinee" at the immigration game,
and to do IT by giving a square deal. This
man Is Frank z. Sargent. commissioner
general of immigration, and the trump
cards which he is using bear the portraits.
finger prints and anatomical measurements
of All Sin and his kird. But newer still
among Mr. Sargents game paraphernalia
are his Chinese detention houses along the
Canadian border and his so-called Chinese
census"
The story of how the ex-labor leader has
broken up the ring which has in recent
years successfully landed thousands of Chi
nese across our Canadian border, and how
he has put out of business the Canadian
coaching schools for fraudulent celestial
immigrants, has never been told TO the pop
ular reader.
With a Sleeve Full Of Jokers.
About the time that Mr.. Sargent came
to Washington TO take a hand at the OK
asperdting game OF wits with the gentle
man OF the smile so ''chldlike and bland"
the census bureau, after examining Its
cards. was discovering that All Sin had re-
Gently euchered It badly. and with a sleeve
cEcck-full of trumps, at that. 1t had found
ir the United States 400 Chinese claiming
TO have been born in this country. Of
these. 6,651 were males and only 1883 We're
females. This discovery that about II per
cent OF these Nankee-born celestials were
OF the sterner sex Immediately aroused the
suspicious Of Director North. and for this
reason IT Is practically an invariable rule
that the two sexes of any race are born
and survive in almost equal numbers. Thus,
Of our native whites 50.1 per cent are male;
OF the native indians 1913; OF the native
ngroes, 1910. If there is practically one
Jack for every Jill among these classes of
native born" why should there he three
OF that category? So the census bureau
reshufhed its deck and came to the final
conclusion that of the 1851 celestial Jacks
claiming birth here probably 2.231 told the
truth; that OF the 1855 celestial Jills all
OF them told the truth The keynote of
this reasoning was that although the gen.
tie sex cannot tell the truth to when
they were born. they cannot lie to where
that event took place. So this left 4.42G
false returns from the male native born.
Mr.. Sargent got wind OF this just as ;he
INST manu- was ptlllB u'dll 10 MIN,
and he rose with a sigh
And said Can this be-
We ruined by Chinese cheap labor
With his eagle eye he penetrated far up
the folds Of his Acknowledged opponents
sleeve and saw the trump cards, which
were these:
The Ring and It's Work.
Just across the Canadian line there ope-
rated a shrewd coterie of fraudulent immi-
grant boosters. known as the ring" In
league with them were number OF Yam
kee legal sharks The ring and It's ad-
vlsors scorned such daredevil tactics as
smuggling. They simply instructed coolies
fresh from the native land to cross the
boundary boldly. submit to arrest for hav-
Ing entered through an unlawful port, and
upon trial before a United States COM
missioner to claim that they were born IN
the United States. To support this claim
abundant Chinese testimony could be sup
piled by the ring. The government was
generally unable TO refute this testimony,
its only recourse being to discredit the wit
nesses by showing Inconsistencies In their
evidence.
But the witnesses supplied by the ring
were so thoroughly drilled that the pris-
oners In most instances were discharged.
not admissible Chinese but as American
citizens, entitled 10 vote and to all of the
franchise privileges of q true son OF the
soil. Coolies who had never seen the
chores Of America until they had landed at
one of the Canadian ports of the Pacific,
few weeks before, thus not only got these
privileges for themselves. but for their al
legged children born in China. and for their
alleged wives. Hundreds of slave girls.
commanding a market price of from two to
three thousand dollars IN the Chinese dis
tricts Of New York or San Francisco were
thus brought IN as daughters wives. and
that in a Jifry. Only about - per cent OF
these cases were being decided against the
almond-eyed applicants when Mr.. Sargent
buckled on his armor and went forth to
beard the ring in fits very den.
He found that one member OF the ring
occurred Canada for such OF his fellow Chi
nese as were willing to learn the story 10
which he would be taught to testify at so
much per head. At the trial another mem
Der Of the ring-oftener two members
would sit in front OF the witness to prompt
him, II necessary. These prompters posed
hs interpreters TO the attorneys TO the
defendants. These two Interpreters and
the canvasser sent abroad-alI three OF
them Chinese-represented 10 per cent OF
ell of the cases tried along the Canadian
border. Each coolie paid $500 to be brought
fIom China and landed at the eastern Can
adian border. This sum was divided as
follows: $50 was paid for the perjured tes-
s!imony. $50 commission to the middle
man for obtaining the applicant so to-
ward 1.-THE government interpreters fund. "
$50 for the attorney, and the balance for
transportation incidental expenses and the
members of the ring. One thousand OF
these cases were being tried per year along
the Canadian border at the time Mr.. Sdr-
gent commenced his inquiry. The ring and
It's attorneys were waxing rich. The prin-
cipal coaching schools operated as a part
of the scheme were in Montreal.
New Detention Station Scheme.
The Joker which euchered the heather
Chinee" when his hand had been played
was this Mr.. Sargent signed a contract
with the Canadian Pacific road. and under
its terms all Chinese destined for the United
States by way OF Canada have been
brought through the dominion under guard