Bee to Yung Wing, June 19, 1879

Mr. Bee to Mr. Wing.

Dear Sir: I regret exceedingly the necessity of calling your attention to a matter which I am compelled to say, after a thorough inquiry, partakes of persecution towards a large number of Chinese engaged in the manufacture of cigars and tobacco in this city. I am compelled to say that, for the first time, this persecution comes from the United States officials, through the internal-revenue office of this district. I need not call your attention to the many annoyances the Chinese have been compelled to submit to by statutory enactments of the State and local authorities. But I must say I never anticipated the United States Government would, in any of its departments, without good and sufficient reasons, be influenced by the clamor of a foreign mob and lend its aid in striking down any class of residents, and I don’t believe it will tolerate such an act when inquiry is made. Hence I place the facts before you that you may judge if my language is too strong. As a preface to the great wrong, I call your attention to what I call petty persecution. A few months since a new special agent made his appearance here, representing the Internal-Revenue Department. As to his acts in connection with “the citizens” the proof has fully ventilated; his acts towards the Chinese have never been made public.

This man learned that the Chinese vegetable peddler, in self-defense, had to take with him in his rounds each morning a pocket full of cigars to appease the hoodlum who met him regularly and demanded his supply of cigars, which the poor fellow at once complied with to save his wares. Scores were arrested and imprisoned for having unstamped cigars in their possession to the ruin of their calling, and loss of a city license of $10 per quarter paid in advance.

The hoodlum and ex-convicts were pressed into service to convict old established factories of illicit acts. The collector ordered the investigation of one of the oldest factories here upon the affidavit of a young thief who, five days after, was sent to the industrial school for ninety days for petty larceny, and a most estimable gentleman, Mr. Cooper, removed for refusing to be a party to such a transaction. So much for petty acts.

Please turn to Revised Statutes of United States, second edition, p. 664, sec. 3387, which requires all cigar manufacturers to give a bond, &c.

In this connection it is well known to every resident of California that the Chinese own hut little real estate. In executing bonds it has been the custom for fifteen years in the internal-revenue office to take a “Chinese merchant’s bond,” or personal property security; how this class of security is looked upon by our leading business men, I refer you to 200 pages of printed testimony taken before the Morton committee; and, further, I challenge the internal-revenue office to show the loss of one dollar from this class of bonds for ten years past; in fact I cannot learn of any loss since the inception of the cigar interest, and I get my information from officials who for several administrations have been in the office. For ten years past, up to three months since, every “anti-coolie club” and “white man’s cigar union” have petitioned, resolved, and urged, threatened vengence unless this practice was changed requiring Chinese to give real-estate bonds, openly said in their meeting, and re-echoed daily on the “sand lot” that that only would destroy the Chinese cigar business, but representations have been urged in time and out of time to aid in this nefarious business, but have refused to help in so contemptible a transaction. It was left for the present agent, Mr. William Higby, to comply with this demand, who issued an order about three months ago calling in the old bonds and demanding new ones in real-estate security from all cigar manufactories. As there are but few white men in comparison with the Chinese it was an easy matter for them; in fact quite all were already doing business under real-estate security.

The result of this action of Mr. Higby has been to put the Chinese manufacturers in the power of a class of men who make a living by an occupation known as professional bondsmen, otherwise straw-bail men. I know of firms who paid these cormorants from $50 up to 250 as a bonus to get them to go security; many are paying one per cent. per month interest on the full face of the bond; upwards of twenty factories have had to close up business. The books of the internal-revenue office here will show that these factories have paid over $500,000 yearly for stamps and licenses in this business alone.

Two weeks since, at the urgent request of these persecuted people, I called upon the new special agent, Mr. Grimson, and laid this whole matter before him. He pledged his word that he would at once investigate, and, if he found that the government had not lost by the old system of merchants’ security, he would at once so report to Washington. I have not heard from him since I inclosed copies of my correspondence with Mr. Higby on this subject. Please note that he places his action upon orders from the commissioner at Washington, under dates of February 6; that of June 12 he says, I had to do it to protect the interest of the government,” which is the most astounding assertion, in view of the real facts, yet made. I herewith inclose letters received bearing upon this matter. You quite naturally ask why this change from the old and tried system, wherein the government was fully secured to this irresponsible straw-bond security?

Representing in part the interests of the Chinese here resident, I deem it my duty to place this matter before you, that you may take such action as the necessities of the case may dictate.

With high regard, I am, &c.,