Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-23
MISSIONARIES
TAKE BABIES
FROM MOTHERS
Break Little Chinese
WOmen'S Hearts
Assertion That Children Are Kept in
an Improper Home Is Denied
by Those Who Ought
to Know

sat by in pitiless silence, evidently glo-
rying in the work which brought them
nito court, two little Chinese mothers,
far away from the land of their birth,
sobbed as If their hearts would break
yesterday afternoon while Judge VIII
bur of the juvenile court ruled that
their 2-year-old daughters be kept
wards in the detention home until Tues
day.
Thursday night, with a few fgurative
brass bands and fireworks, with twelve
policemen under the lead of Lieutenant
Dixon, and with enough missionaries to
Christianze the entire population OF the
South Sea islands, squad bore down
on a little Chinese home in China alley,
and with great pomp and ceremony tore
two little Chinese babies, neither one
older than 2 years of age, from their
mothers arms and despite the cries or
the parents, took the frightened infants
away to missionary homes, under the
allegation that the house was not
decent one. Also two girls, whose ages
might be II or 20, were arrested and
taken in charge, while they stoutly
maintained their innocence Of any
wrong and produced documents to show
that they were married. Nevertheless
they were locked up, and 1t was SAD
scene in court yesterday when the little
Celestial motners, kept away from their
babies for nearly twenty-four hours,
were once again allowed to see the IN
fants for a short time before the young
sters were sent to the detention home.
Missionaries Lead Raid
The raid was made by missionaries
who alleged that the house was of an
Objectionable character and that the
babies were being kept in a house OF
ill repute.
The house is. one of a number of
shacks on the north and south division
of the "L"-shaped quarter known as
China alley. This quarter for years
has been the Chinese crib district, and
up until the San Francisco earthquake
had never been peopled by other than
Chinese women of the town.
When the earthquake destroyed the
San Francisco quarter, last April, these
Chinese came to Los Angeles in great
numbers. Many Chinese situated here
were compelled to leave their homes
because the newcomers were willing to
pay higher rent in order to get place
in which to live.
To add to the miseries of the yellow
people, the railroad at that time bought
up portion of the Chinatown land and
proceeded to tear down few of the
miserable brick shacks that served
them for homes. With no other place
to go, four families moved into one of
the houses in China alley that had for
merly been occupied by women of ques-
tionable character.
Chinese Mothers Good Women
Jung She, the eldest of the women, a
pretty little Chinese matron of about
80 years of age, rented the place and
let out rooms to the three others.
Ng Ding, her husband, lived with her.
A dozen of the most reputable men of
Chinatown yesterday testified that Jung
She was one of the best women of Chi
natown and that never once had she
been accused of wrong doing. She had
gone to China about three years ago,
and upon her return here eighteen
months later she had the baby with
ner, a bright, pretty little girl. Inc
other mother, another good-looking lit
tle Chinese woman, Chin You, and her
husband, Chung Sue, occupied rooms in
the mace, while the two younger wom-
en-. with their husbands, also lived
there.
The house admittedly had a question
able reputation, but according to the
evidence produced yesterday no wrong
act had ever been charged to the wom-
en- now there until the missionaries
took UP the present raid.
During the Chinese new year period
of a month ago the house was a par
ticular spot of attraction for tourists
because of the bright little children
there and the pretty little women. 1t
was watched by those interested IN tne
case. and no one besides the husbands
who belonged there were seen to enter
or leave There was no disorder and the
families lived in happiness.
Men Weep with Women
Yesterday scores Of Chinese were at
the court house. The birth papers of
INno rim Or
the proper seals. The entrance papers
into the country were all regular, the
marriage certificates all correct, and the
Chinese women stood about the halls
wailing in their misery and utter de-
sDair while the men, trying to console
them, became OVerpowered by grlef and
wept with them. An old Chinese mer-
chant stood in one or the corrluoTs IN
the basement of the building sobbing
out his misery He was the father of
one of the babies, and for the past ten
wears has been a jeweler in Los Ange-
les His head was held low in shame,
and he lifted the fur lined SILK jacket
about his face and sobbed Tor the lttle
one who had been taken from him.
No one seemed to pay any attention to
him, other than to jibe at his misery,
and some called him crazy until pretty
Glare Mersh, an assistant In the re-
corder's office, saw the old mans mis-
cry, and, leaving her work, showed him
the way to the court room where he
might see his little girl.
In the court rooms above the children
were kept away from the mothers un-
til court began. then came the tri-
umphal entry of the various mission
aries surrounding two forlorn and
weeping little celestial waits, who
wanted nothing more on earth than
TO be allowed to see their mothers.
Mothers seem to be something of the
same the world over. There were evil
dently few in the group of white wo-
men in the court room yesterday, for
there came no responsive chord of sym
pathy or look of tenderness from their
hard set faces as they glowered upon
those frightened little Chinese mothers
who held their babies to them and
rocked to and fro In misery, sobbing
out their hearts over the little ones
who held close to their silken gar
ments.
The Chinese men wept with them.
They did not know what it was all
about those heart-broken yellow per-
a. ~ tla,y ala lrpoW that their WO-