Evening star., 1951-05-21
Chinatown Is Small, But Area BHzes With Activity
By George Kennedy


made an entirely new war out OF
the Korean affair. an unusual
meeting was called in Washing
tons Chinatown.
It was press conference. It
was held upstairs In the Cathay
Restaurant at 624 H street NV.
Leaders Of the Chinese commune
ty, among them George Moy,
known as the mayor of China
town, Kenneth Lee, an H street
merchant, and H. H. Kung, pas
tor of the Chinese Christian
Church, were present to give re-
porters a statement they had
drawn UP declaring their loyalty
to the United States.
They were UNDERSTANDABLE con-
cerned about the effect of the.
war Of the Chinese Peoples Re-
public on the United Nations and
the United States. The state.
ment did not get much play in
the press-there was no need to
play it. No one associated the
Chinese in Washington with Macs
troops. There was no boycott.
Business in Chinatown went on
as usual.
Not Involved in Revolution.
The public was right. While
the Chinese in America financed
the revolution in the first decade
OF the century-as other immi-
grants furnished the money FOR
so many nationalist movements
in Europe-the recent revolution
in China was not Of their max
ing. Their criticism of General
issimo Chang Kai-shek-private-
ly expressed-is based of. his
failure to stop it,,
Business went on as usual but
the mercantile establishments I'M
have seen their best
days. The restaurant business is
booming. Where else can you get
a four-course dinner for $1.40?|
And II it's night life you want.
the Chinese pleasure, palaces on
Fourteenth street, the Lotus and
the Casino Royal, are still offering
dinner at $1.50 with dancing and
q floor Show-no cover charge,
When Chinatown was on the
south side of Pennsylvania avenue
NV. in the 300 block, an area row
part OF the park approaches to the
Capitol. the merchants used to
prosper selling curios to the sight
seers. Now most of the visitors
get in and out of Washington
without realizing that there is al
Chinatown mere. AS one merchant
put it, they can't even sell leechee
puts now and few people seem in
terested in the marvellous artistry
Of Chinese pottery.
Comprises Two HI Street Blocks.
Chinatown is two blocks in ri
street, the 800 block which was
almost entirely taken over by
members of the On Leong Mer-
chants Association when they had
to move away from the Avenue
in 1882, and the 500 block which
has the headquarters of the Hip
Sing Association and few family
clubs.
There are six restaurants in the
800 block, some of them with
shiny fronts of modern glazed
panels-all Of them with air con-
There are 10 mercan-
tile establishments, all importers
Of Chinese goods, but several of
them are out of business. How
they continue to remain there
with locked doors and a few ar
ticles In the windows is mystery
that is easily answered. Family
associations pay the rent and use
The store space for meeting place
on Sunday nights.
There are less than 1000 Chi |
nese in the Washington area but
these representatives of the Oldest
culture in our midst have more
clubs and associations than a
much larger population of Amer
leans of European origin would
support.
First there is the Chinese Con-
solidated Benevolent Association
70 which every Chinese belongs.
Its most important function is ini
death benefits. No Chinese goes to
The potter's field.
Two Great Tongs Represented.
There are the two great tongs|
Or clubs which used to rule theI
lives of the Chinese in America,
The On Leon and the Hip Sing
There is the Chez Kong Tang.
which is the organization of Chi
nese Free Masons. There is the
Nationalist Party. the Kuo Min
Tang. Then there are the family
associations, the Lee Association.
,he Moy Association, the Chin
which are the largest.
and others which combine fam
lies such as the Chew Lun Lin
zee Association, the Lung Kong
Tan Yee Association, the Lee Gan
,hlu Association and the Yee
Noy Kai Association.
The warm spring air of last
hight brought many Chinese men
'ut-of-doors in Chinatown. They
'at on the sidewalk benches nro-
'ided by the merchants and talked
n their sing-song Cantonese. or
'trolled UP and down.
The street was filed with the
strange sound of Chinese music
Tor the windows were open in the
music club at 603. When this re-
porter walked up a flight of stairs
md stopped in. he found that itl
was coming from q tape record
ng being replayed through an