The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-03
THE REAL CHINATOWN.
Facts About These Strange People
and Their Habits.

There are 1000 Chinese in and
about New York. OF these not more
than 5000 are nomlnally OF actively
residents of the great city and less
than 1000 live In the triangle formed
by Mott. Pell and Dovers streets, says
the New York Sun.
This handful Of strangers, with
their queer customs. their strange
psychology and their hating efforts
to adapt themselves to institutions
which are not OF their making. have.
managed In the past six months to in
volye nearby all the legal machinery
of the city, including the district at
torney's Office, the police courts and
the detective organization at poiico
headquarters, In a little private quar-
rel of their own. 4t
There is probably not single bust
ness enterprise In Chinatown owned
by single man. Everything goes by
companies. Even the little sweetmest
merchant who sells nuts and ginger
and sugar cane on an out-of-doors
stand at Pell and Doyers street will
talk to you of his "pahtnahs.
Wee Kee & Co." Wong Sing q
Co." may mean u company OF 90 or
30 men, each with little investmen:
in the enterprise The custom Ia so
common that the rich men Of China
town, instead of owning one or two
establishments all for themselves, put
their eggs in many baskets. q
L..
small. Chinatown as whole has
been losing in prosperity for several
years. The steam laundry Is mainly
responsible.
The reaction against opium deas
has cut off another source Of revenue.
end, finally, the coming of the Park
hurst society and the resulting tong
war has hurt gambling lot.
Many Chinese vegetables do rot
( flourish in the cold climate of New
York. So these vegetables, from
sprouted rice to yams, are raised near
New Orleans by a Chinese syndicate
and from there shipped fresh every
day or so to a syndicate OF dealers
which supplies the restaurants ana
stores. -"
Gambling is at once the delight and
the trouble maker of the Chinese
quarter Here and In China 1t is the
Eesetting vice and the favorite amuse.
ment. e~
Except for that one weakness 1t
may be said that the Cinnamon are on
the whole more moral than the white
people who surround them. They DO
not drink, and there are fewer opium
smokers among them than there
would be drunkards among an equal
number OF whites away from the re-
straints Of home.
Chinatown here is like new COM
munity In the western mines. They
are away from their families, Their
women and their code of respectability.
They work off their love OF excite.
ment In gambling.
AS matter OF fact. their gambling
is mainly for excitement. Half OF
the games raided In the periodical po-
lice clean-ups are no more harmful
than society game of bridge or
quiet hand OF poker at the club.
Fan-tan is the game for pIungers.
This Is the simplest device for losing
money ever invented by man,
The players on the lucky number
get triple stakes minus a percentage
for the house. II Is as simple as sin
ming.
Before Capt. Eggers' raid ON Easter
Sunday night there were about ~ fan.
tan games going. Some OF these hY
caught some OF the "dens" he raidea
were only little private games or pie
gov. There are fan-tan tables going.
although very guardedly.
No white man is allowed In Chi
Iese game. Some OF the degeneratsS
who live on the fringe OF the quarter
buy lottery tickets, but this game has
never spread among the whites as 1t
has In the Pacific coast cities, wner.
the lotteries maintain agents In the
downtown business district.
Gambling brought ON the Hip Sing
On Leong highbinder war, which is
still going on and Will go ON, the Chi.
nese say. until the Parkhurst society
ceases TO encourage the Hip Sing
Tong In brief, here ID the status Of
that mix-up: 4rf-3
The gambling house Keepers need
protection against the police and
against Chinese toughs, 1t is their
custom everywhere to put this matter
into the hands OF blackmailing com.
panies or tongs, which collect regu.
lar tribute, out OF which they paw
themselves and bribe the police.
Against outside Chinese meddlera
they use. whsn necessary, the A cai4
iber American revolver. OF the thrsau
thereof.