The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1907-12-03

trusts was up for discussion recently
In Nladiyostok and Shanghai. an Am
erican, who had been listening in ST.
lence to the discussion, remarked: 1T
may be true that trusts do all the
harm you say-that they are illegal
ana ought to be suppressed. We will
lay all that aside for a moment. or
until you can show me any other
country on Gods footstool that con-
tains enough first-class brains, hus-
tie, and push to organize a successful
trust of any kind"
To this very intelligent Chinese.
a graduate of Yale. who had not spok-
en- during the first part of the de-
bate, replied: $50 you think the Unit
ed States is the only country that has
the requisite brains to organize trusts,
DO you? | am sorry to have to dis
Illusion you, but trusts existed in
China before Columbus set forth on
his voyage of discovery. And, what
is more, they exist today. We have
our own names for such commercial
organizations, but to the foreigners in
our country they are known as trade
guilds. If any of you intend to make
study of economic conditions in
China | believe you will find much to
interest you in the guilds"
| was impressed by what the Yale
man said. In spite of the fact that
| was not a newcomer in the far
East, and had on divers trips visited
nearly every part of China, was
compelled to admit to myself that |
had not paid much attention to the
many commercial associations or
guilds. A few days later | had an
opportunity to begin a study of the
guilds. 1t would require too much
space TO record even a small part of
what | learned about them, and
merely scratched the surface of the
subject. | learned that the guilds are
IN reality trusts, and that they have
existed since before the birth of Con-
tucius. So America is not the birth
place of trusts. However, | want to
tell my readers about the oldest, and
at the same time the most interesting,
of the guilds. 1t is the Beggars' Guild.
The Beggars' Guild is an association
OF beggars, and its influence is felt
all over the empire. The mind of man
runneth not so far back as to be able
to say when this unique institution
was organized. 1t has it's head men
in every province in the empire, and
these heads in turn report to the chief
OF the guild and his board of advisers,
who reside in Shanghai. Every city,
town, and community that is visited
by travellers has a representative of
the guild, and these men employ the
men, women and children who carry
on the actual work of soliciting aims.
The occupation is regarded so favor
ably by many natives that there is no
lack of applicants for admission to the
guild
Travellers who visit China declare
| that the beggars of this land are the
most persistent. the dirtiest, and most
| loathsOme TO be found anywhere on
earth. 1t is marvellous to contemplate
the number of small children to be
| seen begging in China, and the thing
that strikes every stranger out here is
| the large number of deformed men,
women and children that follow sight
seeIs about. Upon investigation |
learned that the officials of the guild
have their agents constantly securing
China for children that are msshap-
en- at birth. The more hideous the
deformity the greater asset it becomes
TO the guild. 1t is not at all uncom-
mon for children to be deliberately
crippled and then sent out to beg.
Quite naturally a large percentage of
the malformations are fakes pure and
simple. l have seen men trussed up
in all manner of uncomfortable posi-
tons in order TO attract the attention
of strangers. The slightes. investiga-
ton will reveal the fake. Unless a ma
/ tive is either a member or an employe
OF the Beggars Guild he cannot solicit
aims. This is where the trust feature
| of the business comes in. The trust
pays the government well for the priv
! ilege Of bleeding charitably-incllned
strangers and so well is il unuer-
/ stood that outsiders must not intrude
that none attempts it, Among the re-
| forms which the prOgressists i'm China
would do well to undertake, when. if
ever, they come into power, is the
| abolition of this most detestable and
| debasng of monopolies There is
nothing that casts more d,ssredit on
a nation than it's federation OF swarms
| of beggars.
The receipts from begging i'm China
! are enormous No one not acquainted
/ with the deliberations of the inner cir
| clcs knows anything near the real sum
| that is inyeigled out Of kind hearted
/ people by these imposto7s every year.
| But from talks ! have had recently
with well-infofmcd Chinese. and mis-
sionarios who have lived out here for
/ years. ] am led to believe that the
| amount cannot be much less than 2 b.
| 500 900 Mexican dollars annually. There
/ arc any number of the bcggars who
/ arc not actual members Of the guild
| being only employees. but i'm time all
/ are takcn into fun membership The
method of distributing the "swag" is
/ q secret Men who have been street
/ beggar5 in Shanghai Peldn and Can
/ ton for years are known TO be very
/ wealthy and in the city of Tien-Tsin
! one of thc most valuable rows OF mod
/ orn flats is i'm the name of q boeear
/ who has solicited aims on the hund
/ from incoming and outgoing paesen-
gers for many years There are many
/ other similar cases throughout the en-
/ Dirc The head officials of the Beerars'
/ Guild nearly en- Of them men who