The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-10-18

AnglO-SaXOn conception OF uecenCy
Shall all the accepted traditions OF
respectable society be abandoned in
order to win the approval of these
young men away from home? Ordi-
narily, the missionaries decide in the
negative. Thus there is a gulf fixed
between the two classes of white men
in Asia; and so mutual criticism is
begotten. In the society which mas
dominated Shanghai the missionary,
whatever his standing at home or his
personal qualities, has been persona
non grata.' Whether this state OF
affairs will alter with the newly
changed conditions remains to be
seen.
When "Reform" Struck Shanghai.
One further explanatory point should
be noted before describing Judge
Wilfley's sensational reforms. Gam
bling has always been Shanghai
vice. During race week" in spring
and fall, it has been rampant. All
kinds of gambling have been open
and unashamed. There is nothing in
| the western world to which this can
be likened; foreign gentlemen, for
eign riff-raff, Chinese gentlemen, Chi
nese riff-raff (not to mention women
of any nationality met in gamblers
| democracy about the tables of chance
| and mischance. Back of the worst
of these fleeing schemes were Amer
leans.
Last spring an anti-gambling cru
SADIE was skillfully conducted, Rob
ert E. Lewis, the Young Mems Chris
tan association secretary, being one
of the prime workers in it, Without
going into details, it is enough to say
that the leading citizens who COM
prise the municipal council were sub
jected to such pressure that they out
laWed all race week gambling, ex-
cept betting upon the races within the
club house grounds. This was an
enormous stride for reform, and the
next step, the total abolition of gam
bling and licensed vice of any sort is
inevitable and near. So Shanghai,
the city where everything goes" was
acquainted with reform and made
ready, psychologically, for the ad.
vent of the man of the hour.
Enter the Man with the Square Jaw.
Then came Jove with his thunder
bolts. Nobody out here, or else
where. apparently, had paid any par
ticular attention to the creation by
congress last year of new United
States circuit court for China. So its
staff was on the scene before the
significance of the event was at all
understood The Judge appointed by
the president was the one man above
all others prominently qualified for
his task. Judge Whitley had gone
with Gov. Taft to the Philippines as
district attorney. He had set the
legal machinery in motion there, and
had run out of the islands a lot Of
vicious camp followers, big and lit
tie, who were exploiting the Filipinos
and soldiers, and making trouble gen
orally. Judge Whitley is a quiet man,
with goodly frame, square jaw
and an even disposition; a man not
given to delivering homilies from the
bench or announcing his intentions
beforehand or explaining his actions
afterward. He is the sort of mar
to scour the United States escutcheon
in Shanghai, where it has been more
than a little furnished in times past
by Americans, official and unofi-
cial
The day after his arrival he calm
ly announced that American lawyers
who expected to practice in his court
must pass examination as to their
professional qualifications, and pre-
sent certificates of their moral char
acter. That would seem an innocent
enough procedure, warranted by prac-
tice in the United States, until one
has heard described the type of legal
shysters who for the most part infest
Shanghai, making it's badness worse.
Eight men attempted the examination.
Six of them failed ANONYMOUSLY to
attain an average of 60, out of
possible 100. 1t is said by those
close to the judge that had these men
passed the examination, all but one
of them would have been disbarred on
the OASIS OIL character. AL lodSC one
of them is a renegade from the Phil
ippines, and had before felt Judge
Wilhey's hand.
CONSERVATION Among Crooks.
Here was a sensation for Shanghai
The rejected men had been doing
business in this city for many years;
their records were, presumably, an
open book, so there is significance in
the fact that 1 have been able to find
nobody to question the essential JUS
tice of the courts action. Naturally,
TIE men cannot practice in the Brit
ish court, and their "face'' is gone
utterly. This swift, summary, om-
nous action set Shanghai's under.
world agog. What would this as yet
uncomprehended Judge do next?
Nobody had to wait long to dis
cover. BasIng his action on the COM
mon law, Judge Whitley summoned be-
fore him eight proprietresses of the
most influential resorts. One es-