The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1908-01-23
The Ancicnt and Honorable
Beggdrs Trust in China
By Sam B. TraseL

SOC, 900 Mexican dollars annually. There
are any number Of the beggars who
are not actual members of tho guild,
being only employees. but in time all
are taken into full membership. The
method Of distributing the "swag' IL
secret. Men who have been street
beggars in Shanghai, Pekln, and Can
ton for years are known to be very
wealthy and In the city Of Tien-Tsin
one of the most valuable rows Of mod
ern fats is IN the name Of beggar
who has solicited aims on the bund
from incoming and outgoing passen-
gers for many years. There are many
other similar cases throughout the en-
pire. The head officials of the Beggars'
Guild-nearly all Of them men who
have spent much Of their time attired
in rags begging on the streets Of va
rious citles-live in vice-regal style.
They own grand houses, which are
most gorgeously furnished, and they
are looked up to and respected on ev-
cry hand, in spite of the fact that their
calling is we'll known. No doubt this
sounds queer to westerners, but East
is east and west Is west, and never the
twain shall meet" is as true today as
1t was when Kipling FIRST said II.
My first experience with the Beg
CARS Guild-though did not know it
at the tlme-was at Newchwang dur
ing the Russo-Japanese war. !, as
we'll as the rest of my brother war
correspondents who were stationed in
that place, was greatly bothered by
a gang of most persistent beggars-
So aggressive did they become In
their appeals that we held a council
of war and debated some means OF
Kidding ourselves Of the curse. We
decided that we would single out ono
man and make a proposition to pay
him one Mexican dollar per diem on
condition that he would keep the rest
of the bunch from us, We sought out
Jo-Jo, as we had learned to call him
Jo-Jo was poor devil who was badly
bent and had great difficulty In walk
ing. Through one Of the hotel ser
wants we told him what we wanted
He agreed to the proposition. and i
worked like a charm-until Jo-Jo de-
manded a raise Of fifty cents a day.
One morning in August-it was the
great Chinese holiday, the Festival Of
the Dragon-four of us correspondents
we're at breakfast. when a visitor was
announced, We repaired to the hotel
sitting-room to meet our guest, whom
we thought might be Russian gener-
al, or at least colonel, who had come
to tell us that we were to be allowed
to depart for Mukden Immediately.
Our surprise may probably be sur
mised-though | doubt it-when ! say
that the visitor was none other than
old Jo-Jo. But we did not recognize
him at first He was changed. His
filthy rags had been discarded and no
was enwrapped In silks and satins-
His head had been looked after by a
barber, and his long queue was shiny
with oil. He was no longer bent, but
stood as straight as an arrow. When
he entered the room his face broke
into a smile and he held out his hand
to US. We did not ask for any ex-
plantations, but proceeded to hustle
him out into the street. Then we
sought our servant interpreter and
asked him to inquire of Jo-Jo the ma
ture OF his visit. We learned that
the fellow, who actually regarded him
self as a worthy and servlceable en-
ploye, had merely come on this holi-
day morning to pay his respects to his
employers. We did not know then
that we had an opportunity to enter
tain an official of the Beggars' Guild.
or we might have handled him with
more gentleness than we did.-Shaug.
hal (China) correspondence OF Leslie's
Weekly.