The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-04-23
Five Leading Merchants of
Chinese Quarter Appeal to
the State Department
at Washington, Through
Diplomatic Representative
DEPORTATION CLAUSE
IN TREATY SOUGHT
Federal Authorities to Be
Requested to Assign
Agents to Rum Down High
Binders in Oriental Dis
tricts of Pacific Coast

An, appeal to Chong Yin Tong, Chin
ese minister at Washington for aid in
ending the homicidal strife between the
powerful Bing Kong tong and the vim
dictive Suey Sing gunmen is on its way
to Washington. following secret
meeting of five leading merchants of
Chinatown, enforced members of one.
of the warring societies, who decided
upon individual action, in the hope that
the Chinese diplomat may move the
state department to intervene.
The merchants, ranking among the
most powerful in the quarter, met in
fear of their lives in. secluded room
on the top floor of a building in Dupont
street There they formulated a plan
action by the American authorities.
Whether an emissary already is on the
way to Washington with the petition,
or whether 1t has been dispatched to
trusted agents in New York represent
ing the merchants. with instructions to
go personally to Washington to inter
view the minister, was not revealed
TWO COURSES OF ACTION
Two courses of action were consid-
cred by the merchants. The first Is
that Minister Chong Yin Tong lay be-
fore Secretary ofsState Bryan the plant
of the merchants, many of whom have
been bIackmailed into joining the tongs,
with a view to determining whether
government agents might not be as
signed to work in the Chinatowns of
the Pacific coast and gather material
that would result in the disruption OF
the highbinder societies, either through
prosecution in the state and federal
courts or through deportation.
This plan would involve an amend
fnent of the deportation act whereby
aliens may be deported after the
present three year limit. Most of the
tongmen charged with highbinder
crimes have been in the United States
many years and the authorities have
expressed doubt whether they could
be deported merely for belonging to
the secret societies.
TREATY PROVISION PROPOSED
The other plan involves the incor
poration of a clause in a new treaty
between the United States and the re-
public of China whereby the deporta-
tion of highbinders shall be agreed
upon
According to one of the merchants.
the tongmen know that~there exists no
way by which the present Chinese
government can interfere to prevent
continued fighting among the tongs. In
the days of the enperors a check could
be put on the activities of highbinders
In America by reprisals upon their
relatives in China Now the only
feasible plan. in the eyes of the Chi
nese who privately disavow the tongs. !
is deportation, which they declare is
feared by the lawIess Chinese and
which soon would end the trouble.
The merchants who met secretly
are only small portion of the well
to do. who are compelled through fear
OF violence to join the tong. Each
would be willing to cooperate with
the city authorities provided he could
be assured of safety. but each knows |
that the first move against the tong |
men would mean Death.
The affairs of each tong are con-
trolled by committee Of from 10 to |
l5 desperate characters, who levy
tribute, direct the fighting and pocket
the proceeds. Recently the Suey Sing
directorate levied a tax of $3.50 on
each Of the 1000 members of the tong. |
This money went into the hands of a |
dozen men, who retain all that is not |
used as bonuses for the murder OF |
their enemies or to procure the free
dom Of their gunmen on trial in the /
L