The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-11-08

tenn of slavery practiced In America,
Wtth ITS center of activity In San Fran
cisco. but with agencies in all the Pa
cific coast ports and all h large cities
settled in any considerable number. A
fight between two Chinese engaged In
this traffic in human beings has spurred
the federal officers to action and led to
shocking revelations.
A slave agent waylaid and tried to
kill u slave importer in one of the dark
alleys of the Monaghan quarter OF san
francisco rs the result of q quarrel
over the n~onpayment of Il fee. But the
importer defended himself and wounded
his assailant. The injured man then
told his story In e%Xtenuation OF the
shooting. 1t is a horrifying story in
all its details, for it shows to what ex-
tent the traffic was developed before
the American officers We're able TO Sc
cure evidence on which to proceed
against the lawbreakers.
Chin Kim You is the name of the
importer who was attacked for failure
to settle with his agent. He has now
| fled TO the interior OF China with $780,
600 belonging to a slaVe-deallng asso-
citation OF which he was treasurer. The
man who sought Chi:.'s life. but got the
worst of the fight. is known among the
! Chinese OF California as Joe King.
Their personalities. however, are rele-
want to this story only as they concern
TIE disclosures laying bare the heart
less trade to which they were parties.
Trey are only two of many-yellow and
white-who have been engaged In a
bold defiance of the federal immigration
laws for immense profit.
Pretty little Chinese girls-helpless
ana ignorant in a strange land-are he
victims. Brought to America under
false pretenses. they are sold into lives
of slavery, sold for cash to the highest
bidder. as mere chattels of the mar
ket. Every steamer from the orient
brings from two to six of them. They
are ~fraudulently passed through the
formalities of admission to this country
and are then into dens pat
ronizeG by Chinese and low whites.
Though some of them ave managed
to evade the vigilance of their keepers
and reach the mission homes, the great
barred windows of their little rooms.
The bloom vanishes from their plump,
pink cheeks, the luster fades from their
black eyes and. in the end, when their
beauty has gone, they are compelled TO
perform mental work for others
The Cost of Girl Slaves.
The lowest price ever paid for one
of these girls is 81 900, and uncommon-
ly beautiful victims sell for $4,000 each.
.They are sold by the importer to the
keeper of the den into which they are
placed; absolute title passes. as far as
Chinese ethics are concerned, n each
girl is given to understand that death
is the penalty for any attempt to es-
cape. H
There are 800 of these girls in the
Chinese section of San Francisco and
the Chinatown of Oakland. which lies
!, Just across the bay. Many have been
shipped to interior cities of California
and others to Chicago, Salt Lake City,
ST. Louis, New York and Philadelphia.
Il 1,, 20 ~ %Ia rr,,o ~ ,,sv ~ -. -
imported from China directly to San
francisco by steamer, but some are
landed in Seattle and still others at
Mazatlan, Mexico. from Mexican ves-
sells, and brought across the interna-
ttonal line into the United States. San
Francisco is the market point for cities
Of the west, and st. Louis for cities OF
the east.
That importation of the girls is
expensive is shown in the statement Of
Joe King. that he tried to kill Chin
King You because the slave importer
ing a girl named All Loo from China.
Joe King Is a native of the United
States. He was sent for h girl. His
fare was paid to he orient and back
and he was given 800 to buy the girl
also provided with funds to pay for
her passage to America. The girls
steamer ticket cost $3.50. but after all
this heavy expense All Loo sold for
$4,000 and netted her importer a very
snug profit. Joe King, like other agents,
demanded a large fee because he tool
the risk of being tripped up by the Inn
migration inspectors and tent to prison
for trifiing with American laws.
All these dainty Chinese girls are
brought to this country under the pre-
tense that they are wives OF American
born Chinese. They never travel in
the Chinese steerage but invariably az
first cabin passengers, for the agents
having them in charge pose as well-to-
do merchants, who have accumulated
sufficient money to go to China for
to the extent of dressing the girls in
the softest n brightest of Chinese
silks, as evidence Of the prosperity of
their new husbands.
BY this trickery it has not been Diff
ficult for the slave importers to mock
not operated through Chinese alone.
however, but a W retained American
lawyers to prepare the fraudulent
marriage papers that are carried to
China by the agents to be brought back
and presented to the immigration In
the terms of the national Chinese ex-
clusion act an A~merican-born Chinese
Of the merchant class may at any time
go to China to get g wife and return
with her to h United States. 1t IL
this provision Of the law that the willy
slave dealers and their American adj
visers a warped to their purpose.
Many Of the girls sold into slavery
are Of the tender g Of Is years: they
are v older than %. for at that time
Of life. in the Chinese mind, a girl
loses her youth. Purchased from their
parents IN the interior cities and towns
Of China n brought across the ocean
In the big liners they are so confused
and dazzled upon arrival that they can
answer the questions Of the immiEra-
ton inspectors only as they have been
coached to speak by their c%ustodians
during the long voyage on h water.
And if ever q girl realizes what II
before her and refuses to submit, brib-
cry is resorted to by the agent In
charge Ct her and the Chinese inter-
prefer, speaking between her and the
Inspector, accommodatingly frames her
answers to fulnll the law. Several 81
these Interpreters. wearing the blue
uniform of the United. States immieira-
, tion service, have been found viSStins
the girls after the sale OF the unfor-
Il - IA- NALbA ~