Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-01-22
Dr.. Edwards Letter
Especial Correspondence,

'ine Luz the vessel to carry n
away to the South Seas and glaC
| shall be to shake the-I- wa.
gong to say dust, but it is mud
'-of China from my shoes. La
glad | came and saw China but
l 90 not want to come again.
would advise everybody to come
once. They would see much tina
would make them contented with
their own countries and their
own lot in life. But they will
not want to come again, unless
they are more hardened to hui
man misery than | am. | hav
told Of the filth, of the starva-
ton, of the Ignorance and of
the savagery of the Chinese, and
. there remains the worst of all
to be told. l have visited the
prison and have seen an execu-
ton, and if there remained in
my makeup single feeling of
respect for the Chinese it has
been most effectually eradicated,
and there is now nothing left
but lOathing in the extreme. Chi
neSe exclusion should be the cry
'of every true American.
Cruelty is, in its most varied
form, the predominant feature
: OF a Chinese prison. The Chi
nese who does something against
the law, and there are so many
ways of breaking Chinese law,
that it is wonder everybody
Is not in Jail, is punished by i'm
prlsonment and by stocks, for
minor Offenses and by death, Ell
Their sudden or lingering, if the
lnfractiOn be serious. When he
is put in prison he is at the
mercy of his friends and relative
. for if they do not feed and care
for him he will starve to death,
as the government does not give
food to its prisoners.
The common punishment for
minor Offenses is the bastinado.
. The culprit is tied face down
on a board. Then he is flogged
from head to foot with a heavy
whip, and this is followed by
beating the soles of the feet with
bamboo rod until they are so
raw that the offender can not
walk for a week or more. The
next higher form OF punishment
is to put the culprit in a frame
of wood so that he hangs by hii
neck, his toes just touching the
ground. His hands are fastened
so that he cannot ease the pain
on the neck, and he is kept in
this condition for days, and some
times for weeks, his relatives
feeding him and doing what they
can to relieve him.
l saw one poor devil standing
in this position, his mouth open,
and his face covered with crawl
ing flies, some of which crawl
ed in and out of his mouth, all
feeling apparently being gone,
as he made no effort to keep
the flies away. If the culprit
is malicious offender, the
stocks are covered with spikes
and sharpened nails to keep him
in constant torment.
i saw one felOn strapped to a
, board through whichsmall nails
had been driven. These were
piercing his flesh in dozens OF
places, and his blood had caked
all over his body and on the
board. He was being prepared
for execution and it was thought
necessary to torture him first.
1t is believed that if a Chinese
die without his body being mu'
tilated he will go to the abode
be mutilated when he dies he vii
have to remain in the place Of
of the blessed, but if his bod!
the bad until his wounds heal
therefore, in order to make the
punishment fit the crime the Chi
nese executioner will mutilate tn
body both, before death and afte
The high class Chinese usually
are given the privilege of throt
ting themselves with a sllke1
cord when they have transgress
ed the law in such manner as
. to deserve delth but the low elias
Chinese suffers both before and
after his life goes.
Quick death was meted out t
tba man whom | saw executed