Now, therefore, we, Li Yung Yew, His Imperial Chinese Majesty's Consul-General at the port of San Francisco, and Yang Yu Ying, His Imperial Chinese Majesty's Consul at the port of New York, in pursuance of instructions as aforesaid, do hereby publish and make known that inasmuch as it is the custom of the United States to take a census of the population thereof once in every ten years, and as this proceeding has no connection whatever with the laying of taxes or the examination of certificates of residence, and as all persons irrespective of nationality are to be enumerated under the provisions of the law, our countrymen should not be alarmed or cherish any suspicion, but, as soon as the proper officers of the Census Bureau present themselves with this Consular proclamation, should answer all the questions put to them without evasion or reservation, in order not to incur the penalty of the law. A list of the questions to be answered is hereby appended for the information of all concerned: Population schedule (32 questions). Agriculture schedule (59 questions). Dated Hsuan Tung, second year, First moon (February, 1910), and sealed with our respective seals of office. THIRTEENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES CHINESE CONSULAR PROCLAMATION [Illustration: Chinese text] (SEE TRANSLATION ABOVE) "What was finally done?" the policeman queried. "The Consul-General had to ask the Five Companies to back up the census order, and they did. The fifth layer of paper was put on the billboards, and the Five Companies, without beating around the bush, just ordered the Chinese to do as they were told." "I've always heard that the Five Companies were stronger on the Pacific coast than they are here. I wonder why?" "I asked that very question," Hamilton said, "and the man who told me all about this explained that it was because they controlled the Chinese slave traffic to America." "'Tis like enough," the policeman agreed, "and of course the most of that would be on the other slope. But there's enough of it here, just the same, and half the trouble between the Tongs is because of it." "That was what started the trouble in Oakland between the Hop Sings and the Bing Gongs," Hamilton said, "and there were eight men killed in that. It began over the possession of a slave girl who had been given as security for debt. But they never caught any one for that." [Illustration: ARRESTED AS THE FIRING STOPS. Watching the close of a shooting affray; the principals trying to escape the police.] "You can't ever catch a Chinaman," the policeman said. "I've arrested a dozen myself--but it never did any good. Look at Boston--it was open talk that there were two regular executioners under Tong law, but the Chinks got out of it by tellin' the judge that there never had been any executions and that it was merely an ancient title!"