Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1907-05-15
GO THEp CWN WAY
Settlements Have Their Own ~Mayor,"
Who e Absolute s-ler and Set
ties Al Disp.sss - Fune-
lions Of "Hish-na-sre."

There were about 10000 persons IN
San Francisco's Chinatown before the
earthquake and there are about 1000
IN that at New York. and these two
settlements are verltable cities within
cities Each has It's own mayor. who
rules over Il without reference TO the
laws Of the land. but who manages to
maintain order much more successful
~ than the white mayor and his police
do IN their territeies
No Chinaman ever seeks the aid Of
the American courts. He has few bus
mess disputes. for the Chinaman is
noted for his honesty as a trader
Commercial paper is unknown
among them The Chinaman is the
one man In business whose word Is
accepted BY white merchants as being
as good as his bond. II misfortune
overtakes him and he cannot pay he
commits suicide and bequeaths all that
remains Of his property to his creditor.
Occasionally a dead Chinaman is
found In the street with a knife OF
bullet wound to tell how he came by
his death. The white police take
charge Of the body and make the usual
inquiries, but they never discover any
thing. At the sight Of a policeman or
detective Chinatown becomes dumb,
but those who have the confidence Of
the Chinaman can easily learn that
Wing Sing was a man without respect
for the emperor or his ancestors, who
neglected to obey the most excellent
commands OF the mayor"
The "Hlghbinders" who have been
mentioned are supposed to fill another
function as well as that OF an inofiicial
police They are said to be main
tanned by the Six Companies, that
mysterious trading organization with
headquarters in China, which controls
nearly every Chinaman in America.
The great Chinese laundry business
IN most Of the cities of America is
controlled by them. as are the Chinese
grocery and supply shops and the
curio shops, where oriental articles
are sold to the white man at astonish-
ingly low prices. The "Highbinders"
carry out the will Of their masters, the
Six Companies, sternly suppress any
revolt against their authority and
wreak vengeance on any man who is
so careless Of his life as to deal dis
honestly with his masters.
On rare occasions the American po-
lice secure evidence enough to justify
an arrest on the charge Of assault or
4 granddaughter against Chinaman who
Is supposed to be one Of these mystic
rieus secret police. The man no soon
or appears in the police court than one
Of the ablest criminal lawyers obtain
able appears to defend him and
cloud Of witnesses is produced to
swear that he was a thousand miles
away when the crime was committed.
The power Of the Six Companies is
said to extend even to China. They
Can wreak their vengeance on the rel
atives Of the man who oifends them in
America, should he succeed in escap-
ing, and so great is the family afec-
ton which Is characteristic Of the
Chinaman that he seldom makes any
effort to escape, preferring to suffer
the consequences Of his wrong doing
in his own person.
Both in New York and San Fran
cisco the ChinatoWns are self-con-
tained cities. They are not even de-
pendent on the white man for their
food supply, Dozens Of quaint, weird
looking things to eat are to be found
In the Chinese quarters. Chinese cloths
and silks are imported from China
for clothing and Chinese furniture and
utensils for the household. Even the
fresh vegetables are grown by Chinese
market gardeners in the suburbs Of
the cities, and the poultry which forms
so large a part of the Chinaman's food
is bred by Chinese poultry farmers,
Eggs are imported from China and are
considered a great delicacy when they
have attained the age Of two years.
The health authorities find the Chi
nese Clearly and remarkably free from
diseaea and amenabie to discipline