[Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands by Charles Nordhoff]@TWC D-Link book
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands

CHAPTER V
11/13

This is made up by levying an additional contribution.
"Do the companies advance money to bring over Chinese ?" "No," was the reply, "the company has no money; it is not a business association, but only for mutual aid among the Chinese here." Nor does it act as an employment office, for this is a separate and very well organized business.

It sends home the bones of dead men, and this costs fifteen dollars; and wherever the deceased leaves property or money, or the relatives are able to pay, the company exacts this sum.
It is evident that the Chinese in California keep up a very active correspondence with San Francisco as well as with China.

They "keep the run" of their people very carefully; and the poorer class, who have probably gone into debt at home for money to get over here, seem to pay their debts with great honesty out of their earnings.

It is clear to me that the poorer Chinese command far greater credit among their countrymen than our laboring class usually receives, and this speaks well for their general honesty.
I do not mean to hold up the Chinaman as an entirely admirable creature.
He has many excellent traits, and we might learn several profitable lessons from him in the art of organizing labor, and in other matters.

But he has grave vices; he does commonly, and without shame, many things which we hold to be wrong and disreputable; and, altogether, it might have been well could we have kept him out.
The extent to which they carry organization and administration is something quite curious.


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