The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1905-11-17
CHINATOWN TO CO
OUT OF BUSINESS
Picturesque Part OF Frisco to
Give Way to Progress.
EXODUS SOON TO BEGIN.
NEW ORIENTAL CITY WILL BE
LOCATED ON BAY SHORE
SEVEN MILES SOUTH OF
PRESENT LOCATION.

San Francisco Cal, Nov 16.-
Chinatown must go. The exodus soon
will begin. San Francisco will soon
have an oriental city for neighbor,
and at The same time be rid of that
section of filth and turmoil which oc-
cupies sixteen square blocks in the
heart Of the city
A local entSrpriee Is completing
plans for the removal of the Chinese
To a point on the bay shore seven
miles south of the present Chinatown,
and many of the most promin 3nt
Chinamen have consented to go.
Active workers on the New Oriental
City" as it Is TO be called, will begin
within the year. Contractors will be-
gn bu'lding substantial houses for
the merchan'E, restaurant Keepers,
residences. temples, bazaars. hospitals,
schools, theatres and other houses
necessary for a Chinese city, duplcat
ing the present Chinatown but on
larger and more solid basis.
Before TIE work of construction be-
gins however the streets will be grad
ed, severed, provided with electric
lights and water mains. There will
also be a fire department managed by
Chinese. The streets VIII be wide and
paved The general aim is to make
the new Chinatown appear to the citi-
zen and to the visitor as a patch OF
the orient t~ansplante1 to- the occi-
dent. The buildings will be from two
to ten or twelve stories n height.
The site is 110 acres, wrlch viii give
the Chinese plenty of room. The pres
ent Chinatown is cramped in within
forty acres which is contracted quar-
ters for 10000 people.
About J11 men will be put 20 work
early in the coming year on the new
or etal city and II is expected that
the principal work will be finished
within twelve months. After the re
moval il is likely that the work will
be rushed and perhaps 1000 men EN-
plcyed.
Access will be easy to the new
Chinatown and no one need so unless
he wishesAt present it occupies the
most picturesque section of San Fran
c'sco. and the residents of larg part
of the city must pass through this
forbidden of forbid1ng kingdom. The
transplanting of the celestials TO San
Mateo county will relieve the San
Francisco board of health of consider
able worry, and also place the fan
tan" players beyond the reach of the
police and the power Of corruption of
our officials in order to run a wide
open town.
San Francisco would lose all of
these. also the opium d ems, but these
losses would be more than balanced
by the reclamat'o on of the darkest spot
in the city and in addition 20 the as
sessmsnt roll of about sl50,O0O,OOO
through the. increased value of prop
erty
All of the rookeries will be de
molished and in their stead modern
buildings will be erected. But. before
the work of construction begins, the
streets will be graded. severed, the
crooked alleys will be made into
streets These improvements, to
ge,her with the numerous fine sub
stantial buildings. viii it is estimated
increase the value of real estate 400.
- perhaps 500 PEE cent. These sixteen
blocks are valued at about $6,100,000,
This section was originally the
business part of San Francisco. The
frame buildings have degenerated into
rookeries. and the once substant al
brick buildings are bur decaying ruins.
Rent values are gradually decreasing
in consequence. and property owners
realize that they must rebuild in or
der 10 get value OF ground rentals.
But the general busin sss of the Chit
ntse quarter has decreased and the
merchants cannot afford to pay more.
Rents have decreased about 25 per
ceng. within the last year The owners
of bagino houses get high rents. but
the majority do not, and these favor
the removal Of the Chinese, and the
rc-bu lding Of the old quarter into a
modern American city.
OF the $50 owners Of really In
Chinatown only twentythree are Chi
nese. And there are comparatively
few long leases on buildings. Thus the
white property owners command The
situation. and when those who are now
Indifferent realize that they can get
increased rents they tOo viii Join n
the movement II removal Quite q
number hayc done 80 by taking stock
in part payment Of their realty. The
present owners Of -old Chinatown"
will be the principal owner II the
"re nUvated Chinatown"