Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-04
WOMEN TO FIGHT
FOR CHILDREN
CHINESE MOTHERS APPEAR IN
COURT TODAY
Terror Reigns Among the celestlals
and Report is Abroad That Chi
natown May Have to Be
Moved

The war between missionaries and
Chinese which resulted in small-slzed
riot at the last contest before Judge
Wilbur of the superior court will be
resumed today in department eight of
the superior court when two Chinese
mothers will fight to retain possession
of their 3-year-old baby girls recently
and police.
At present the affairs of Chinatown
are in very questionable shape. The
railroads are taking out many of the
little huts in order to build spur tracks
in that vicinity and it seems only q
matter of time, according to some Of
the statements of prominent Chinese
business men, until 1t will be necessary
to move the town to some new location.
Besides that there have been in the
past week fifty Chinese ordered de-
ported and sent back to China and the
action of the federal authorities, COM
bined with the interference of mission
aries, has created considerable unrest
among the celestials. Two weeks ago
missionaries with a squad of police en-
tered one of the small houses on China
alley and arrested two young women
there who were said to be leading
life of immortality. Both girls produced
their marriage certificates showing that
they had been married to Chinese hus-
bands and Judge Wilbur last Tuesday
afternoon dismissed them from custody
but before they could escape from the
court room they were taken in charge
by the federal authorities on charges
of being in the country for immoral
purposes
The action of the federal officers
caused condition of panic among the
Chinese and many of them are now
afraid to appear on the streets.
At the time the two young women
were taken from the house on China
alley two 3-year+old baby girls were
taken from their mothers, it being al
legged at that time that these infants
were being kept in a house of evil
repute. After a hard fight the celes-
tials managed to secure the permission
of the court to return the Chinese
babies to Chinatown, where they have
since been in the custody of George
Lem, a we'll known merchant of the
yellow quarter.
Children to Appear in Court
Today the youngsters will be brought
back to court and their fate will be
decided The missionaries allege that
the babies should be given to the mis-
SlonS, declaring that the treatment ac-
corded the youngsters in Chinatown is
not of the right sort. The Chinese
mothers allege that they know more
about taking care of Chinese babies
than a white woman could possibly
know and that they should be allowed
to have their own children.
The yellow women further maintain
that the house in which the babies were
kept was not house of bad reputa-
ton, but that it was one of the dwelling
shacks. Half the population of China
town is vitality interested in the out
come of the trial and the Chinese cham
ber of commerce has rallied to the
support of the yellow women in their
fight to prevent the white missionaries
from separating the babies from their
mothers. Incidentally fine point in
law about the powers of a police judge
and the constitutionality of the juve-
nile laws will be raised at the hearing
by Attorneys Davis, Rush and Willis,
who represent the celestials.