Yellow Peril

The truth about the massacre

Antecedents

It all began in 1869.

Flagship of a giant reconstruction was the First Transcontinental Railroad. Planned to boost American economy after the Civil War disaster, embodied hopes and dreams of Uncle Sam himself.

Pacific Railroad meant trade. Trade meant expansion. Expansion meant wealth. Especially when railways were shyly beginning to spread in Europe. United States, always competitively Avant-Garde, engineered the scheme that it would become model for nowadays Capitalism.

Such gargantuan deal required an equal amount of money. In order to create prosperity, the US Government doubled the Public Debt. Bold move, but not like the idea of covering all the expenses with the New York Gold Exchange. That system task was not only to favour the Market but also to maintain stable the price of gold.

It was not long, before speculators gathered up. Among them, James Fisk and Jay Gould. Nonchalantly tinkered around the then President of the United States, Ulysses Grant, they wanted him to buy and sell the metal to one of their associates -one General Daniel Butterfield- who would became USA Treasurer. He managed to convince Grant that it was necessary to buy gold, in order to keep the economy steady. However, Butterfield did not sell it. He bought it in Gould and Fisk's name, causing a sharp rise of prices and a dangerous inflation.

Realizing the fraud, the Government sold $4 million of gold in the next 24 hours. Consequently, its value plummeted. That outrageous mechanism generated a tremendous economic crisis, aggravated by scandal. Speculation on State Aid, inflating budget and reports, shutting out the State. Everything, rather than fair competition.

The crisis forced thousands of companies to close down. California, which had just finished its railroad and increased the ranks of unemployed souls, was one of the worst affected. The majority of the workers were Chinese, hired en masse to work on the railways and dismissed like broken dolls once they finished the job. Pour into Chinatown was the next obvious and single move. There, almost everyone was a foreigner. Almost. The very few White businesses, however, did not last long. Working fifteen hours per day and paid only few pennies, Chinese -once again- were the only ones who not only survived but thrived. ...

( About the Pacific Railroad: Was A Joint Venture, Involving Two Major Companies Created With That Sole Purpose -Union Pacific And Central Pacific- Also Involving The United States Government. Its Construction Connected Two Strategic Points For American Economy -The East Coast And The West Coast- And Represented The Beginning Of A New Era For Both USA And The Rest Of The World. That Railroad System Was A Colossal Quest, But Budget Scandals, Huge Subsidies, And The Involvement Of POTUS Ulysses Grant Almost Crashed The Country).

Pacific Railroad 1869

It was not all hunky-dory, though. Three fires surrounded them. The United States, China, and the Triad. Together working as one to exploit them. The prosperity of Chinatown's shops was often fictitious. Very few of them made an actual profit. The incomes from gambling, Opium houses, and liquor went directly into the hands of the Mobsters, who dispensed a good amount into local authorities.

The US flourished with the trade of Chinese products -included fruit, vegetables, fish, and necessities acquired overseas at very low cost- and local businesses went bankrupt, because they could not compete with such low prices.

By 1880, the entire national economy depended entirely on import-export with China. The Empire, on the other hand, imposed a Commission to verify the conditions of its subjects in that foreign country. Consequently, the Triad had complete control of Chinese immigration in the US. Keeping Uncle Sam in a sort of hidden subjugation. But hidden does not mean unknown. Hence, the scandalous Racial Laws and an overabundance of Fake News regarding the Yellow Peril were promulgated and spread on a massive scale .

Figure 13 – Thomas Nast’s Illustration “Go West – Go East” Exposing Jim Crow Laws. The Father Of The American Cartoon Openly Criticized American Political System In The Magazine, Harper’s Weekly.

Trusting in the innate racism of Americans, the Government described Chinese as undesirable . Therefore, it deprived them of any legal personality. Every time they suffered an injustice at the hands of someone White, full immunity was granted to that individual. And every time Chinese -allegedly- broke the rules, an example was made out of them. In short, every Yankee felt legitimated to take matters into their own hands .

The Los Angeles Massacre was a direct consequence of that perverse mechanism. As usual, in order to justify the crisis and its own flaws, the Government creates a perfect scapegoat.

Figure 14 – John Chapin’s Great Chicago Fire. $222 Million, 17.500 Buildings Destroyed, 300 Deaths.

The fire in Chicago on the 8 th of October, 1871, was the final act. It registered three hundred victims, one hundred and ten thousand homeless people, and eighteen thousand houses destroyed by the fire. One single wall survived. The ensuing investigation determined that it was a nefarious event, unleashed - wait for it- by the wrath of God. Such anger, according to rumours, occurred when an Irish cow – Irish, hence, foreigner- kicked a lamp and set the whole city on fire. It was but so absurd that nobody believed it. Rightly so.

Anyway, the case was closed in less than a minute.

In reality, many whispered that the culprit was not Destiny nor God. The hand that killed was very much human. The reasons? Money, power, glory.

Many things did not add up, about that event. First, the Chicago Fire Department was an example of unity and awareness. It was committed to defend a city, entirely made of wood, by fires that spread twice a day. It was, accordingly, very well armed and active. Eleven complete trucks, two manual fire-extinguishing systems, thirteen hoses, a forklift truck with a ladder, one hundred and twenty firefighters, one hundred and twenty-five volunteers and fifty-three horses. By 1871, it was also equipped with the unique Knocke-Pattent Hose Elevator, a water tower capable of generating and directing a high-pressure water jet.

How is it possible that such team found itself to quell the flames on the night of the 8 th of October? Easy. The Department made two unforgivable mistakes.

The first one concerns the First Aid. The responders would eventually show up, but only hours later and simply because they were submerged by calls.

The Department’s excuse was, “ We thought that the reported smoke belonged to another fire, one extinguished in the same area the day before.”

Almost grotesque, for expert firefighters. Furthermore, there is no mention in the yearbooks of that other fire. Maybe, just maybe, because there was none.

The subsequent mistake is, if possible, even more ludicrous. Once acknowledge that there was a fire, the Department sent the trucks. Only, in the opposite direction. The word miscommunication was overused and unacceptable. Especially by professionals accustomed to exchange information quickly and accurately. Moreover, all morning the firefighters had intervened to control four small arson fires in the same area. How could they ignore the fact that another one might have spread there as well?

Anyway, these mistakes were fatal. Despite the efforts and cooperation from nearby towns, the fury of the flames destroyed everything. At that point, if that was really arson, who did it? Most importantly, why?

The vast majority of the buildings in the heart of old Chicago were crumbling and illegally occupied by the Dregs Of Society, poor unfortunate souls of different ethnicities who found refuge there. Mobs, vice, and prostitution prospered.

Figure 15 - Chicago Fire Department, 1871. Although Equipped With Very Modern And Advanced Machineries, Bizarre And Deadly Mistakes Were Made During That Infamous Event.

Someone said that even Frederick Law Olmsted despised Chicago, particularly its immigrants and ugly buildings. Furthermore, in comparison to the rest of the United States, the city was far behind in terms of industrialization.

Emperor Nero used fire as a weapon to cleanse everything undesirable and corrupt about Rome. The flames that burned Chicago to the ground had the same purpose. The economic support from the State rebuilt the city in a way that was unthinkable. The very first Architecture School saw the light during the same year. While the Home Insurance Building, first skyscraper of the country, opened its door in 1885.

Figure 16 - Home Insurance Building,1888. Designed By William LeBaron Jenney, In 1884, It Is Often Considered The First Skyscraper, Symbol Of American Power.

A series of ominous events created a favourable substratum for the tragedy of the 24 th of October in Calle De Los Negros. Especially since more than half of the city already discontent with Chinese and their success.

Beyond the statements of the witnesses who retracted their versions countless times, the truth is one and only one. Bilderrain, fully armed, sneaked into Negro Alley. Together with other Vigilantes, he headed towards Yuen's house and shop. Some mentioned even the presence of Hing himself. Bilderrain's plan was to steal the well-known gold hidden in the trunk, which everyone had only learned of in the morning. Obviously, the Tongs disagreed. It was no coincidence that the Vigilantes organised that attack at half past nine sharp. In the trial, however, half past nine turned into six o’clock and even four o’clock. Details. The Ghetto had its own rules, including a curfew. After eight o’clock, everything had to close. And Chinese followed these regulations by the book.

Bilderrain, badly wounded and on his knees, cried for help. The rest of the group backtracked. Even for highly trained men it was not wise to come face to face with any Tong warrior, especially in their own turf. -That was the official version brought to the trial, and the only one to which the Judges gave credit, although many witnesses -all respectable citizens- have repeatedly disavowed it.

However, he claimed that Thompson played the hero. Holding his gun, he marched bravely into the alley. All by himself. Then, he opened the door and almost immediately got shot in the chest. Two hours later, he was dead.

After, officers Celis and Kerren pulled Thompson's lifeless body out of the alley and tried to tend to him. The news of his death made the crowd even madder. The rest is well known.

Horace Bell, reporter and lawyer, almost instantly gave his testimony about it. And it was rejected. He did not surrender and wrote several articles, supporting his version. He focused especially on the relationship between Baker and the Triad, exposing the Law Enforcement rotten core. Only more than a century later, all the documentation finally confirmed his evidence.

The Official Reports conveniently excused the fishy work of the Police, and the murderous behaviour of the crowd, under the chilling discharge of Collective-Madness-And-Let’s-Be-Honest-Chinese-Had-It-Coming-With-All-Their-Smug.

More than a century to prove something that it was easy to verify instants after it occurred.

Figure 17 - Horace Bell, 1880. Such An Interesting Character, It Would Need A Book On Its Own.

First, the witnesses. Absolute protagonist and public hero was Bilderrain, who declared he saw Thompson bullet riddled. False. He was at the entrance of the alley when he called for help, while Yuen's house -where the fight happened- was right inside Negro Alley. More precisely, in an area not visible from the street. Not only because of the walls but also because of the lack of electricity. Officers - real ones - when and if intervened, they did it equipped with lights.

The most bizarre scenario, however, was the one involved Celis and Deck. They had been ordered to not leave Coronel Building. Sure, they excused a breach of orders with the heart-breaking motivation of saving a friend . The smallest violins all over Negro Alley were playing just for the two of them. It was, actually, common routine to abandon wounded officers on the ground. Moreover, Thompson was not one of them. He was a Vigilante and there has always been bad blood between Law Enforcement and wannabes. It is preposterous to think that two legit cops would risk their lives to save a scoundrel. The logic explanation is that they were the ones who killed him. Or that they pushed him into the tiger’s den and shot first, just to provoke the wanted reaction. Some witnesses also mentioned a third cop, one Richard Kerren, who was lurking in the alley in front of Yuen's shop. Later -when the trial was over- many others remembered seeing him jump out of there, after the first blast. “ They killed Thompson!” he yelled. A few moments later, Celis and Deck appeared carrying a wounded man. The two were already in Negro Alley. They did not rush in after, as they stated. Besides, in the area there were also two other officers -Harris and Gard- who were in charge of the building. How is it possible that five of them were unable to defend Thompson, who was shot twice and at point-blank range?

Everything suggests that his murder was a pretentious event to validate a planned and organized massacre. It involved a crowd, who acted under the conscious eyes of Almighty Police. All for a grudge against foreigners who had it better than them.

It is estimated that about five hundred people took part in the lynching. The 1% of the entire city. They were not exalted citizens with pitchforks. It was a conscious organized execution. And, contrary to what Commander Baker stated during the trial, it could be easily sedated by the forces of law and order.

Immediately after the death of Thompson -who was not rescued- a squad breached into Negro Alley, shooting to get the attention of the Mobsters. At a safe distance. That allowed others to climb onto the roof of Coronel Building and open fire directly at the people inside. It lasted about ten minutes. Someone yelled, “ That's it, we're going in!” And that was all it took, for the crowd to start the bloodbath.