The Washington herald., 1908-07-19
CHINESE SLAVES.
smuggIed MOnROIians Practically
Sold Into Bondage.

smuggIed MOnROIians PractieaIIy
sold Into Bondage.
Chinese traffic. as conducted by mod
ern smugglers. IS Just Ike the slave trade
Of the oiden days" said Inspector Ross,
OF the immigration Office. who. for sew
eral years. under Chief Inspector Tip
petit, followed the tran of the smugglers.
says the Detroit Free Press. Tt is made
to pay Just exactly in the same way as
the negro traffic in the South was made
to pay in slavery days" continued Mr.
Rose.
The poor Chinese. who come to this
country at great expense to some per-
sons. are nothing less than slaves for
several years. What man. who under
stands the business. wouldn't be willing
to put up say. 1900, IN order to have a
bond slave working for him, for perhaps
FIVE years, for nothing but food and
clothing?
In order to understand just how II
IS DONE one must know all about the
conditions under which Chinese live in
this country. must be familiar with their
mysterious organization. and their so
cial instinct. and the national tie which
binds them together in the very midst
OF a race. which would Ike 70 do away
with them. and which has passed exclu-
sion laws TO that end.
While we are all the time trying to
trap and arrest the men who are bring
ing the Chinese over the border. they are
not the ones at the bottom OF the sys-
TEN. The ones who are actually at the
merchants in Chicago and elsewhere.
They are the ones who usually finance
the enterprise. but to connect them with
the smuggling in q criminal way seems
almost impossible Yet. many OF these
Chinese merchants are not at all secre-
tive in their interest in the Chinese. whom
We sometimes capture They come into
open court and put up cash bail for the
Celestials and they see that they are de-
livered back 20 the court
For instance, there IS Hong Sling. who
Owls several laundries and restaurants.
and who IS interested IN various other
enterprises in Chicago. He didn't hesi-
tate 70 show an interest IN the three
I Chinese We recently brought over the
border he was in Commissioner Harris
Office, IN Port Huron. when the three
were arraigned. and he supplied 1900
cash bail for the three men. taking them
TO Chicago TO await examination
7 asked Hong Sling Il he were not
afraid the three men would run away,
and he be the loser.
90 They won't run away replied Sling.
They wouldn't dare go
d" But suppose they did run away?
asked Sling
I'D get them again he said
90 What would happen Il they did try
10 keep away from your I asked him
again. And Sling drew his finger across
| his throat. smiled ueauingly. and made
a gurgling sound
Perhaps Sling didn't mean Just that
[ But he meant something like IL He
meant that smuggling Chinese can't
evade their bondmasters- Supposing
those three ChinaE1en did run away. and
Z Sing lost Sl-0o0 each for their bail, they
would have 20 pay him IN labor for years
/ 10 come
Even Il they don't run away. and stay
10 contest the cases n court. those Chi
nese Will cost close 10 1900 each before
they get free. IL they do escape the
courts II costs about 800 10 have ther1
snusgled. and Il costs about 500 IN court
I for attorneys and expenses Il IS jus;
a matter Of investing Si.0a0 in a slave
I OF course. you might say that China
man viii work IN gratitude for the man
who defends him, but il is not all graft
Jude. The man wants 10 get into the
country and he makes a hard bargain.
He knows he can't escape paying his
I part OF the biIl because the Chinese or
I EaniZa1ions IN this country would follow
| him just as the slave owners in the
South used 70 help each other IN getting
Z back escaped negroes. He is traced out
( He has 20 abide by custom We couldn't
follow q Chinaman that way. but the
! Chinese can. They have a way OF keep
/ ing track Of their countrymen- They
seldom fan
Since 1875 We have captured in thi.
district 50 Chinese and > white men or
! 3 were deported but the other q re-
mained here OF the white men, clever
served time IN prison There Is a system
/ behind 1t all We must admit that scores
Of Chinese are brought over the border.
( without detection. and that makes tbs
I busiress pay But when a Chinamsn i.
caught. the man behind II all consider.
+ Il a matter Of principle al stake 70 ny
( 70 set him free
1T is nothing in the world but slave
trade But IT is conducted in such a way
I that the law seems 10 have very littls
[ hold upon II, except that a man Is caught
now and then coming ever the border
/ The real backbone OF the system IS II
this country.
/ In the cases Of these last three Chiness
I the bail was increased from $50 20 s. 900
/ just TO make It more severe on the back
ers and make IL more certain that tbs
/ captured men viii not escape It ha,
been the custom in the past 10 Ak bal
at 500"