(Part 1 is here.)
Mon Far Low was the name of restaurants in New York City, Providence, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Boise, Idaho. The New York City Mon Far Low was located at 14 Mott Street and apparently opened in early 1899.
The Year of the Pig began February 10, 1899. Mon Far Low was mentioned in the New York Sun, February 21, 1899.
Chinese Mystery DinnerPeter Seaman Enjoyed It and His Speech Was One of the Features.The members of the On Leung [sic] Tong Chinese Merchants’ Club ate their annual dinner last night at Mon Far Low’s Chinese restaurant, 14 Mott street.Among the invited guests were a score of city officials and men employed about the Criminal Court building.There were about forty Chinamen at the dinner. They were attired in their native dress and made speeches in Chinese “Boston,” the Criminal Court’s Chinese interpreter, introduced Peter Seaman, Judge Newhurger’s man to make a speech in English. Mr. Seaman got up and said:“I like these here Chinese dinners, but I think the Arrangements Committee should have supplied us Americans with stomach interpreters or chemists for the purpose of finding out just what we are called upon to eat. My friend Sam Wolf, Clerk of the General Sessions Court, wanted to be polite and started to tackle the bill of fare upside down, because he believed Chinamen read their newspapers that way.“I want to say right here that I enjoyed the Chinese mystery and also these hot cross buns with the firecracker sauce.”All hands finally went out into the street to witness a pyrotechnic exhibition.
The New York Sun, August 31, 1899, reported the following death.
Loo Hee Was Murdered.Found Dead in His Laundry, a Wound Through the Heart.Seems to Have Been Stabbed to Death with a Stiletto or Glass Dagger—He Is Said to Have Been the Foe of the Chinese Gamblers—Chin Gin’s Suicide RecalledLoo Hee, an inoffensive Chinese laundryman, was found dead in his shop at 203 West Fifty-third street yesterday morning. He had been stabbed through the heart. His body was found in a sitting posture on a chair behind the counter, his back resting against the money drawer. The head had fallen back and the man’s right arm was thrown across his face almost as though he had tried to hide something from his view. The gas in the laundry was burning brightly, as it had been left on the previous night.The Coroner’s office was requested to take care of a Chinaman’s suicide and the body was sent to the Morgue. S. Weston, Coroner Hart’s physician saw it there soon afterwards and made an autopsy. Immediately afterward he telegraphed this message to Police Headquarters: “Cause of death in case of Loo Hee, stab wound in heart, internal hemorrhage.”Central office was soon at work on the case after this message had been received. They learned that Loo Hee was a brother of Loo Lin, one of the owners of a restaurant at 14 Mott street. They also learned that Hee merely managed and did not own the laundry where his body was found. They found the owner, Wah Kee, in a laundry at 808 Seventh avenue and heard from him that the dead man had a few enemies. The same persons, Wah Kee said, were enemies of Chin Gin, the Chinaman who was found dead on Tuesday morning in his restaurant at 7 Doyers street. ...
The Buffalo Courier (New York), September 1, 1899, said
Dead in ChairChinese Laundryman Was Stabbed to the Heart.Brothers Say MurderPoint Mysteriously to the South, but Make No Disclosures—Possibility of Suicide.New York, Aug. 31—Loo Hee Bean, generally known as Loo Choo, 38 years old, a Chinese laundryman, was found seated behind the counter of his shop, at No. 203 West 53d Street, early yesterday morning, in a sitting posture, but dead. Over the man’s heart was a wound which, however, had penetrated deeply, passing between his ribs and piercing his heart. The instrument which caused it cannot be found. ...Brothers Pointed Southward.Loo Choo’s brothers, Loo Lin and Loo Tom, who are well-to-do and keep a restaurant at No. 14 Mott Street, were summoned, and they threw themselves across the body and wept. To Detectives Lockwood, Sheehan, Dale and Kerr, of the West 47th Street Station, the Chinamen excitedly declared that Loo Choo had been murdered. ...... Loo Lin insisted that his brother had not kilted himself. He said that he was in good health, had no troubles, and never smoked opium. He said that he was making money, and showed a receipt for a money order for $200, which Loo had sent to his wife and two children in China, several days ago.Loo Choo was acquainted with Chin Gin, a Chinese restaurant keeper, of No. 19 Doyers Street, who killed himself by swallowing ammonia last Tuesday. Dr. Weston says that was the first instance of a Chinaman's committing suicide that ever came to his notice, and he thinks that his death may have influenced Loo Choo to kill himself.
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Leslie’s Weekly, November 11, 1899, published a photograph of Mott Street.
Right to left: 14 to 24 Mott Street
The Year of the Rat began January 31, 1900.
The banquet of the On Leong Tong was reported in the New York World, February 11, 1900 and The New York Times, February 13, 1900.
Chinatown’s Big Feast.Members of the On Leong Tong Association Ask Their Friends to a Grand Banquet.Roosevelt, Platt, Depew Invited.Prominent City Officials and Politicians Are Expected to Be Guests in Mott Street.Chefs employed in restaurants in Chinatown have been preparing for the past two weeks dishes that will be served to-morrow evening at the clubhouse of the On Leong Tong Chinese Merchants’ Association.Chop suey, quin la mong and yi lu ong are not considered. A list of twenty-seven courses includes such dishes as bird’s-nest soup, shark’s fins fricassee and imported Chinese canary-bird tongues a la maitre d’hotel.The banquet will be held at the club’s headquarters, No,14 Mott street. Before the Chinese merchants and their guests are seated they will listen to a cannonade of firecrackers. It is expected that 2,000,000 firecrackers will be set off. A Chinese band will play during the banquet.Tom Lee, President of the association, will preside. Li Chung, who is better known as “Boston,” is master of ceremonies.Primed invitations to the banquet have been sent out. Among the invited guests are Senators Platt and Depew, Gov. Roosevelt, Mayor Van Wyck, John F. Carroll, Chief Devery, Inspectors Thompson, Cross and Brooks, Capt. George Titus, Chief Clerk Carroll, of the Court of General Sessions; Recorder Goff, Judges McMahon, Cowing, Newburger and Foster, ex-Judge Patrick Divver, Sam Wolf, William Hannah, Thomas P. Dinnean, Stephen J. O’Hare, Col. Gardiner and the members of his staff.
New York World
Chinese New Year Feast.Celebration Opened with a Bombardment and Resounding Music—An Oriental Menu.The Celestial New Year’s Eve was celebrated last evening by the On Leong Tong—the Chinese Merchants’ Association of New York—at the Chinese restaurant and Joss House, at 14 Mott Street. The affair was announced by several cables of firecrackers hung out from the fifth story to the ground, and went off with almost as much fire and smoke as a battle. The bombardment was kept up for an hour and a half, and cost $1,500, it was said. One of the Chinese artillerists remarked, “When Chinee melchant do a thing he do it up blawn.” ...
The New York Times
1900 United States Census was enumerated in June. Below are the tenants at 14 Mott Street.
Merchants, lines 44 to 50
Cooks and waiters, lines 51 to 59;
laundrymen and merchants, lines 60 to 80
A photograph of 14 Mott Street appeared in Harper’s Weekly, July 14, 1900.
Harper’s Weekly, September 8, 1900, published an illustrated article about food and foreigners in New York.
Bottom left corner: Two restaurants on Mott street,
number 14 on the right and 16 on the left.
Mon Far Low was one of many Chinatown business that donated money to the victims of the Galveston hurricane.
New York World, September 15, 1900
Photograph of Mott Street taken around 1900.
14 Mott Street on the right; colorized version here;
photographer unknown
In the middle of the block is 14 Mott Street, a four-story building with a rooftop flagpole, circa 1900.
On January 3, 1901 at 10:30 am, there was a fire at 14 Mott Street.
The New York Times, January 4, 1901
The Year of the Ox began February 19, 1901. The New York Times, February 23, 1901, said
The Chinese New Year.There was joy and feasting in Chinatown last night, and there was noise a-plenty, too. Ropes of firecrackers were strung from stoops to the top stories of tenements where Celestials dwell. Chinese lanterns were lighted shortly after dark, and Chong Doc, the “Mayor,” applied the punk to a big bunch of crackers in front of 14 Mott Street.Inside was a banquet of Chinese merchants and prominent guests, while the noise was at its height. There were speeches from the oldest and youngest Chinamen on the New Year, and all were happy, Chinese laundrymen from Hoboken, the Bronx, Weehawken, the boroughs, and other places filled the streets.The crowd was swelled by sightseers. At this time the Mongols hastened to pay each other their debts. If they don’t there is a sort of public showing up of delinquents, and a “boycott” is declared. The crowd of New Year’s celebrators seemed to be devoid of worry on the score of debts. They paraded Mott, Pell, Doyers and adjoining streets attired in silken khaki garb, wreathed in bland smiles.
Below is a Mon Far Low menu with two dates written on it: April 26, 1901 and June 1901.
8.375 x 5.4375 inches unfolded;
designer and calligrapher unknown
14 Mott Street is on the right
Date unknown
A Mon Far Low postcard is on flickr.
The Year of the Tiger began February 8, 1902. The celebration was covered by several newspapers.
New York Evening Post, February 12, 1902
Chinese Merchants as Hosts.Dinner of Twenty-seven Courses for the City Officials—To Begin with Fireworks and Pudding.The Chinese Merchants’ Association has everything ready for an elaborated dinner to bee given to the city officials February 17, to close the Chinese New Year festivities. The dinner will be given at six o’clock, and will consist of twenty-seven courses, every dish of which will be an importation from China. The dinner will be given at No. 14 Mott street.Some city officials who are expected to attend are: Mayor Low, Comptroller Grout, Police Commissioner Partridge, District Attorney Jerome, nearly all the General Sessions judges, a number of the Supreme Court justices, and about 150 others. The Secretary of the Chinese legation at Washington and the Chinese Consul-General will also attend.There will be fireworks before the dinner, when 100,000 firecrackers will be exploded. After the dinner, which will last until about ten o’clock, the officials will be taken to the Chinese Theatre, where an exclusive entertainment for their benefit will be furnished. A trip through Chinatown will end the festivities.The souvenirs of the dinner will be the dishes from which the diners will eat. There will be fancy plates decorated by Chinese artists, decorated chopsticks, porcelain teapots, and other dishes will be pretty and worth taking away.The dinner will begin with pudding. The first one will be yellow fish-brain pudding, a rare delicacy imported from China, a small portion of which in Chinatown usually costs $1.50. Chickens fed exclusively on pineapple, and others fed on mushrooms, and ducks fed on fruit, will be served; with sharks’ fins, birds’-nest pudding, and chop suey. There will be thirteen kinds of preserved fruits from China, and half a dozen different kinds of cheese, made in China, and served in Oriental pots.Several members of the association will make personal visits to the city officials Friday to extend them verbal invitations, besides the written ones already sent out. The Chinese have spared no expense in getting up the dinner.
New York Evening Telegram, February 12, 1902
Strange Chinese Dishes Ready for City OfficialsThe On Leong Hong [sic] Will Serve Eggs a Thousand Years Old and and Other Delicacies at Municipal Dinner.The Chinese Merchants’ Association (the On Leong Hong) will give a dinner to city officials at No. 14 Mott street on Monday evening. February 17, which will be unique in many respects. All the food has been imported specially from China. The diners, of whom there will be 150, will retain the dishes they eat from and the chopsticks as souvenirs.Before the dinner, which will begin at six o’clock, $500 worth of firecrackers will be set off. A Chinese orchestra will play and afterwards there will be a visit to the Chinese theatre and a trip through Chinatown.All the delicacies known to the Chinese will be on the bill of fare, which will contain twenty-seven different courses. There will be bok du tuai chu, a dish which costs at the rate of $2.50 an ounce; yellow fish brains, ducks that have lived on fruit alone, fruit chicken, chestnut chicken and mushrooms in every style. There will be crab omelet and chop sooy, eleven different kinds of nuts and eight brands of teas, and eggs, preserved by some process known to the Chinese, that are said to be more than a thousand years old.Representatives of the Chinese Minister at Washington and the Chinese Consul of this city will be present.
New York Morning Telegraph, February 13, 1902
Mayor to Dine in ChinatownWith Other City Officials to Be Guest of Mongolian Merchants.Menu Comprises 27 CoursesIn Honor of the Occasion 100,000 Firecrackers Will Be Exploded. Jerome Will Be There, Too.The Mayor, public officials, judges of the courts and others have accepted an invitation to dine a la Cathay at 14 Mott street, February 17.They will feast on fish brain pudding, sharks’ fins, preserved birds’ nests, duck eggs of great antiquity, and other morceaux regarded by the Chinese as delicacies.Only Twenty-seven Courses.There will be 27 courses, all told, and the guests will carry away the plates, which will serve as souvenirs.On Ieong Hong, an association of Chinese merchants, are to be the hosts.Will Explode 100,000 Firecrackers.They mean to explode 100,000 firecrackers in honor of the occasion, and do other things to make Mayor Low, District Attorney Jerome, et al., believe themselves popular in Chinatown.Incidentally, all the hubbub will mark the close of the New Year festivities.
New York Tribune, February 13, 1902
Chinese Cookery for City Fathers.The dinner of the Chinese Merchants’ Association, to be given for city officials on February 17 at No. 14 Mott-st., to close the Chinese New Year celebration, will consist of twenty-seven courses, every dish of which will be an importation from China. Among the city officials expected to attend are Mayor Low, Controller Grout, Police Commissioner Partridge, Deputy Controller Stevenson, District Attorney Jerome, nearly all of the General Sessions Judges and a number of the Supreme Court Justices. The Secretary of the Chinese Legation at Washington and the Chinese consul general are also expected to be present.Before the dinner one hundred thousand firecrackers will be exploded. After the dinner, which will last three or four hours, the officials will go to the Chinese theatre, where an exclusive entertainment for them will be furnished. A trip through Chinatown will follow. The souvenirs of the dinner will be the dishes from which the diners will eat. The guests will carry them away.
New York Evening World, February 14, 1902
Mott Street Wants Low.Delegation of Picturesque Chinamen Invites Mayor to Dinner.Mayor Low is receiving calls from all kinds of gayly dressed potentates.This afternoon a committee of Chinese princes from Mott street visited the City Hall to invite the Mayor to a dinner at No. 14 Mott street Wednesday evening.Each member of the delegation wore his shirt outside his wide silk trousers. They had red buttons on their black pot hats.They left with Secretary Reynolds a crimson piece of paper written over with black hen tracks. This was s duplicate invitation.
New York Morning Telegraph, February 15, 1902
Chinatown’s Banquet.Arrangements Nearly Completed for the Queer Dinner Mayor Low Will Attend.The arrangements for the dinner which Mayor Low will attend in Chinatown within a few days are almost complete. The banquet will be served at 14 Mott street on china service brought especially from China for the purpose.The music will be furnished by Kee Sing’s Chinese opera orchestra, and the entire affair will be given under the patronage of the Lee Fung Co.
New York Evening Post, February 18, 1902
Chinese Banquet Fare.Bird’s-Nest Sour First, prefaced by Firecrackers.One hundred crates of firecrackers and fifty-seven gross of torpedoes were exploded in front of the On Leong Hong [sic] at No. 14 Mott Street last night, as preliminary to the dinner of the Chinese Merchants’s Association. Besides these there were various “twisters” and “roarers,” colored lights and waving silk flags. The noise lasted one hour, between six and seven o’clock, and then all the Chinamen and their white friends sat down to a dinner of twenty-seven courses, to celebrate the closing of the 2453rd year after Confucius. Police Commissioner partridge was there as a guest, together with other city and county officials.At first there was a little hesitancy on the part of the diners to eat what was set before them. Especially was this noticeable when bird’s-nest soup was announced by the interpreter. The “bird’s nest” part of the soup was a variety of gelatin picked from seaweed by seabirds and stored for future use much as a bee does honey. It is said to cost $4 to $5 a pound, and is therefore considered a delicacy. Boiled squab in peanut oil was served next. There were chicken wings, boned, and stuffed with bamboo sprouts and rice; sharks’ fins, a jelly-like substance highly seasoned; and lotus lily soup, which was not a soup, but a warm drink made of the seed of the Chinese lotus. Mushroom chop suey was partaken of the most heartily. Mushroom chop suey, it is said, has no part in a banquet, but was served because of its popularity with Americans. One American woman called it “glorified hash.”There was bundled duck and boiled chicken and several kinds of soup, besides sweetmeats in innumerable shapes and sizes.While these courses were being served, one of the Chinese hosts, attended by a servant, went to each of the 100 guests and drank with each as much as each would drink of the “Mandarin Drink,” which tasted very much like strong, musty sherry. Before the drinker had reached his fiftieth guest he was reinforced by another. Together they shared the burden of the remaining “healths,” and them zigzagged out of the room very erect and dignified.The departure of Commissioner Partridge and his friends was the signal of a general onslaught on the decorations. Silks, fans, china, fruits, pastry, and what not, disappeared into the clothing of the guests. One stout man put a porcelain vase under his ulster and bade his hosts good night, unabashed. It was explained by some that this wholesale carrying-away of the banquet properties was expected.
New York Sun, February 18, 1902
Partridge in Chinatown.Police Commissioner and Others Eat Chop Suey and Birds’ Nests.Chinatown celebrated the closing of the 3,453d year after Confucius by two dinners and an abundance of fireworks in Mott and Pell streets last night. The On Leong Hong [sic] (Chinese Merchants’ Association) gave a dinner in the Chinese restaurant at 14 Mott street, which was attended by several hundred persons, among them a number of city officials.Police Commissioner Partridge, Deputy Commissioners Thurston and Ebstein, Judge Warren W. Foster, Justice Mayer, Assistant United States District Attorney Lloyd, Assistant District Attorneys Train, Townsend and O’Connor, Dr. Hamilton Williams, Major Kirby of the Eighth Regiment, John W. Goff, Jr., Fred House, Robert M. Moore, William M. Fuller and Police Captain Wendel were among the guests. Tom Lee, the Mayor of Chinatown, presided over the dinner, and a speech was made by Frank Lee, his son.The dinner consisted of all the well-known Chinese delicacies, chop suey, sharks’ fins, birds’ nests end Chinese sweet-meats. The dining room was decorated with Chinese flags and at the head of the room was a large floral piece with “A happy New Year to all,” on it in immortelles. A Chinese orchestra furnished music.At the close of the dinner Commissioner Partridge and his two deputies made a tour of Chinatown, stopping at Joss houses and prominent stores, and winding up in the Chinese Theatre in Doyer street. The Commissioner said that he had a good time.The other dinner was at 24 Pell street and was given by the Oriental Club. Among the guests were a good many American merchants in the Chinese trade and they had their wives with them. A number of specially invited guests were also present, among them William H. Baldwin, Jr., Foster L. Backus, Col. William C. Beecher and Dr. Baldwin, Secretary of the Methodist Foreign Mission Society.
The New York Times, February 18, 1902
Chinatown’s New Year.The Occasion Celebrated with Two Large Banquets of Chinese Viands.Chinatown celebrated its New Year last night with two dinners, one given by the Chinese Merchant Association and the other by the Oriental Club. Both were well attended, and a number of prominent guests were entertained at each board.The Chinese Merchant Association banquet, which was given at 14 Mott Street, numbered among its guests Police Commissioner Partridge, Deputy Commissioners Ebstein and Thurston, Judge Warren W. Foster of General Sessions, Justice Julius Mayer of Special Sessions, United States District Attorney D. A.. Lloyd, and Assistant District Attorneys Train, O’Connor, Townsend, and Thorne. There were also prominent at the various tables a large number of police Captains and Detective Sergeants, and other minor public officials. Mayor Low, who had accepted an invitation to the dinner, did not arrive. The presiding genius of the feast was Tom Lee, the Mayor of Chinatown, who last night celebrated his twenty-fifth year as a Chinese merchant in this city. ...
New York Tribune, February 18, 1902
Officials in Chinatown.... It seems that some time ago, out of the fulness of their hearts and the desire to solidify their already pleasant relations with the present city administration, the Chinese Merchants Association sat about their round teak table, smoked gravely and deliberated. The result of their vote which followed was that the association should arrange, order and aid in preparing a huge dinner, to which they should invite some of the great men of the city’s government. No sooner decided than red tissue paper invitations were on the way to the Postoffice. Days passed, last night arrived, and so did the time for the grand dinner at No. 14 Mott-st., and so did the guests. The Chinese Consul was there, and, with the high officials of the association to aid him, a welcome was extended the memory of which, some said, would never die. ...
In August 1902, Minister Wu Ting-fang dined at Mon Far Low.
New York Evening Post, August 14, 1902
Various Notes.Minister Wu Ting-fang of the Chinese Embassy was the guest at a farewell dinner given yesterday afternoon by the various societies of Chinatown. The feast was in the Mon Far Low restaurant, No. 14 Mott Street, and began at two o’clock. It cost $20 a plate, and there were seventeen courses. At the close of the banquet the Ministerial party paid a call on the Chinese Consul, at one of his offices, in the joss house, No. 20 Mott Street. Mr. Wu and his secretaries then left Chinatown for Washington, where he will remain until relieved by his successor, Sir Leong Cheng Tung.
New York Herald, August 14, 1902
Chinese Societies Say Farewell to Minister Wu at Elaborate Dinner in an Oriental Restaurant
Leading Members of Flowery Kingdom’s Colony Pay Their Final Respects.
Wealth of Queer DishesMinister Wu Ting-fang was the guest at a farewell dinner given yesterday afternoon by the various societies of Chinatown, and partook of the most toothsome dishes that Chinese chefs can prepare. The feast was in the Mon Far Low restaurant, at No. 14 Mott street, and began at two o’clock.Loo Lin, the proprietor, charged between $20 and $23 a plate. The banquet was in fact, the most costly ever held in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and was under the immediate supervision of Secretary Wu, of the Chinese Embassy, who is a member of the same distinguished Chinese family as Minister Wu himself.At the close of the banquet the Ministerial party paid a call on the Chinese Consul, at one of his offices, in the joss house, No. 20 Mott street. Mr. Wu and his secretaries then left Chinatown for Washington, where he will remain until relieved by his successor, Sir Liang Cheng Tung.Among the dainties provided yesterday were Bok Du Quai Chu, Sai Foo, spring duck, fruit, chicken, edible birds’ nest, sharks’ fins, yellow fish brain, sui chen, chicken salad, boiled pure mushrooms, Lychee nuts, yan man, ginger, pears, pineapple, rice, boneless fish, crab omelette, fried spring squab and mushroom chicken. There were seventeen courses in all.
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania), August 14, 1902
Farewell Dinner to Minister WuThe Most Expensive Spread Ever Given in New York’s ChinatownNew York Aug.13.—Minister Wu Ting-fang, was the guest at a farewell dinner given this afternoon by the various societies of Chinatown, and partook of the most toothsome dishes that Chinese chefs can prepare. The feast was in the Mon Par [sic] Low restaurant, at No. 14 Mott street, and began at 2 o’clock.Loo Lin, the proprietor, charged between $20 and $23 a plate. The banquet was the most costly ever held in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and was under the immediate supervision of Secretary Wu, of the Chinese Embassy, who is a member of the same distinguished Chinese family as Minister Wu himself.At the close of the banquet the ministerial party paid a call on the Chinese Consul and Mr. Wu later left Chinatown for Washington.Among the dainties provided were Bok du quaien, Sai Foo, spring duck, fruit, chicken, edible bird’s nests, sharks’ fins, yellow fish brains, Fui shen, chicken salad, boiled pure mushrooms, Lychee nuts, Yan-man, ginger, pears, pineapple, rice, boneless fish, crab omelette, fried spring squab and mushroom chicken.There were seventeen courses in all.
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Articles about visiting New York’s Chinatown appeared in the Atlanta Journal (Georgia).
August 24, 1902
New York’s Chinatown by Night; Joss-House, Theatre and Cafe… Now we are off to a Chinese restaurant, Mon Far Low s, 14 Mott street, the Sherry’s of Chinatown, where the prince was banqueted during his visit to this quarter. And here’s where we find out what “chop suey” is, for our guide who knows well the intricacies of the place, orders chop suey, rice and Long Sou tea for us. We have to count eenie, meenie, to decide on the brand of tea, for how are we to know the difference between “Long Sou, Sui Shen, Long Dung, Lok On, Hong May, Chin Yen and Lin Sam?”Mon Far, a dapper, clever looking little Chinaman, waits on us himself, evidently enjoying the interest of his “Melican” patrons. And the chop suey? It isn’t heathenish at all save in its unintelligible conglameration [sic]. It consists of chopped chicken, onions, pickles and dozens of other unrecognizable things but it’s awfully good. And the rice, the best ever cooked; to those whose taste is satisfied with it in its original dryness. The tea? Simply charming in its pungency and flavor. Of course we must eat with shop sticks. Mon Far has given us uninteresting American forks but he gladly substitutes chopsticks at our request, showing us how to manipulate them to the best advantage. We don’t often succeed in getting them to the mouth holding more than two grains of rice, and we learn that there’s many a slip twixt the stick and the lip, but at least we have the enjoyment of the novelty. Before leaving, we purchase some of the sticks to practice dexterity in the art of eating with them. …
August 31, 1902
Summer Topics in New YorkThe Coal Strike—The Subway—New York Economy—Where the Chinese Prince Was Banqueted... Smiles and Chop Suey.“Mon Far Low” was the name of the restaurant—why “far” or why “low” were equally mysterious. Mr. Loo Lin, the manager himself, waited on us with a bonhomie that was a revelation in the Chinese. He knew how to smile. With his smiles he served chop soy and rice and Long Sou tea; and although there were knives and forks in deference to American perversion of taste, we tried our prowess with the chop-sticks, and managed to pilot successfully formulate to lips several mouthfuls. The tea—leaves and all—was served in the prettiest of little pink dishes with covers manipulated so skillfully that the clear beverage was poured off into small cups, the leaves remaining in the dish to await more hot water and appetite for a second cup. That tea was delicious; the rice could not have been better; but the chop soy remained a stranger!A look into the joss house gorgeous with new-laws, and into the Christian mission with its simple hall, its Bible and its minister, furnished a suggestive contrast. ...
Professor Leong Kai Cheu’s visit to Chinatown was reported in the following newspapers.
New York Evening Post, May 13, 1903
Crowds in Doyers StreetProf. Leong, Chinese Reformer, Speaking in Theatre.Patriotic Fugitive Welcomed by Mott, Pell, and Doyers Street Merchants—Not Much Surface Enthusiasm, But All Chinatown Out to Greet the Visitor—The Dowager Empress After Prof. Leong’s Head.Prof. Leong Kai Cheu, who at the early age of twelve achieved the degree of B.A., and four years later was made M.A., and who is the founder and Vice-President of the “Chinese Empire Reform Association,” delivered a lecture at two o’clock this afternoon in the Chinese theatre in Doyer Street on the reform movement in China. Professor Leong has been condemned to death as often as any man in China who has lived to tell the tale. Once upon a time he was teacher in the palace of the Emperor of China, a position which he filled to the great dislike of the Dowager Empress, who is in high opposition to anything savoring of reform in China. Had the Empress Dowager had her way, Professor Leong would probably have had to lecture this afternoon with his head in his hand. However, the noted Chinaman succeeded in keeping a firm grip on his head piece and with it fled from the Chinese empire, still faithful to the reform movement.Chinatown was not to-day in such an excess of joy over the presence of the noted reformer as might have been expected in such an enthusiastic region, and when some of the merchants were asked why it was that only one or two banners hung from the second-story windows of Mott and Pell and Doyer Streets and the fire crackers seemed to be absent, answer was made that Professor Leong, like a true reformer, was unwilling that any great amount of expenditure should be made to welcome him to the Chinese settlement in New York.“He is a very modest man,” was the explanation of Soy Kee, a Pell Street merchant, “and he would very much rather have his countrymen present in the theatre than remain at home and raise flags and fire firecrackers.”Although no widespread demonstration was made throughout Chinatown when Professor Leong arrived within the Celestial boundaries, the entire region was alert and waiting for him long before the noon hour. In his train, when he arrived at the Chinese theatre, were Soy Kee, Chu Si Kong, of Chicago; Charlie Yip Yen of Vancouver, B.C.; Pow Chee, the reformer’s interpreter, and Wong Wai Chee. These Celestials are to meet to-night at a banquet at No. 14 Mott Street, which is Mon Far Low’s restaurant “For All Nations,” which Mr. Kee confidentially assures all inquirers, is to last at least four hours, and to be enlivened by long speeches upon the reform movement in China.The resident of Chinatown apparently had on their best bibs and tuckers early this morning and were standing around the entrances to their shops, restaurants, and warehouses, discussing the coming of Professor Leong. Many Chinese babies were in evidence on the doorsteps as if there were some chance, perhaps, that Professor Leong would follow in the path of Western reformers and kiss some of the offspring. The Chinese have made much of Professor Leong since his arrival in this country, and he has visited many of the leading merchants of Chinatown, in token of which these merchants made a proud exhibit of the reformer’s crimson card covered with black sprawling hieroglyphs. There are at least four thousand members in the reform associations in this city, and it is to arouse enthusiasm among them that Professor Leong has made a visit to this country. The headquarters of the association in this city are at No. 20 Mott Street, where Professor Leong was entertained yesterday at a luncheon and reception.Leong a Fugitive.Professor Leong has been learned ever since he was small. He was born in the Province of Kwang-Tung and at the age of nineteen, after taking the Imperial examinations, in which slim-beared men usually take part, he was chosen tutor at the Hun-On Palace, a post of distinction beside the royal family. This work did not prove entirely congenial to him and in half a year he resigned, and became editor of a daily paper, which the alert Dowager Empress quickly suppressed, its editorials proving highly distasteful to her imperial ideas. The reformer then fled to Pekin and started the Progress, which made his name famous all over the north of China, and again incurred the displeasure of the Empress. This august lady was chary about suppressing so prominent a paper, and as an apparent means of extrication from the dilemma in which she found herself, a number of viceroys and cabinet ministers suggested him for appointment to Government service. This was more than the Empress could stand, and she put her imperial foot down upon the project. Minister Wu Ting Fang wrote from Washington asking for his services as Chief Secretary of legation, but Professor Leong had other things in mind, and politely declined the office. Later, however, he accepted the directorship of Woo Nan University in a province know[n] to be one of the most conservative in all China. This did not deter Professor Leong, who continued his work of reform with signal success. After this, his work in China involved the greatest amount of risk, inasmuch as the Empress seemed determined to rid herself of his influence in the Empire, especially as numerous modern educational methods had been introduced by Professor Leong. The climax was reached when the Empress and her Manchurian vassals conspired imprisonment of the Emperor and the banishment or decapitation of his retainers and advisers. Then it was that Professor Leong fled post haste to Japan, taking refuge on a Japanese warship.Crowds to Hear Him.It was to hear the record of his achievements in reform in China and of his hopes for an augmentation of the strength of this movement in America that the Chinamen gathered in the theatre in Doyer Street this afternoon. Long before two o’clock a chattering crowd of Chinamen had gathered at the theatre entrance, and were elbowing and pushing their way to gain admission. Meetings in Chinese theatre are proverbially noisy, and it seemed that when the time should come for Professor Leong to make his appearance there would be a great deal of difficulty in hearing him. Professor Leong is a young man, having just reached thirty, an age which seems to leave no impress upon the stoical Celestial features, and dresses in European clothing. He does not speak English, having his fidus Achates Mr. Pow Chee always at his elbow when it is necessary to converse with those of the Western world. This is Professor Leong’s first visit to America, and he arrived here on Monday, having come from Japan by way of China.
New York Evening Telegram, May 13 1903
Chinese Reformer Here LecturingProfessor Leong Kai Cheu Is a Fugitive, Having Incurred Displeasure of Empress Dowager.The inhabitants, of Chinatown gathered in great force this afternoon at the theatre in Doyer street to listen to a lecture by Professor Leong Kai Cheu, founder and vice president of the Chinese Empire Reform Association.The professor arrived Monday from Japan, where he had been for the benefit of his health—not that he was ill, but because he feared he might contract that complaint, so common and fatal to reformers in China, decapitation.The Chinese have made much of Professor Leong since his arrival in this country, and he has visited, many of the leading merchants of Chinatown. There are at least four thousand numbers in the reform associations in this city, and it is to arouse enthusiasm among them that Professor Leong has made a visit to this country. The headquarters of the association in this city are at No. 20 Mott street, where Professor Leong was entertained yesterday at a luncheon and reception.Professor Leong has been learned ever since he was small. He was born in the province of Kwang-Tung and at the age of nineteen he was chosen tutor at the Hun-On Palace, a post of distinction beside the royal family. This work did not prove entirely congenial to him and in half a year he resigned and became the editor of a daily paper, which the alert Dowager Empress quickly suppressed, its editorials proving highly distasteful to her imperial ideas. The reformer then fled to Pekin and started the Progress, which made his name famous all over the north of China, and again incurred the displeasure of the Empress.Later be accepted the directorship of Woo Nan University in a province known to be one of the most conservative in all China. This did not deter Professor Leong, who continued his work of reform with signal success. After this, his work in China involved the greatest amount of risk. Inasmuch as the Empress seemed determined to rid herself of his influence in the Empire, especially as numerous modern educational methods had been introduced by Professor Leong. The climax was, reached when the Empress and her Manchurian vassals conspired imprisonment of the Emperor and the banishment or decapitation of his retainers and advisers.Then it was that Professor Leong fled post haste to Japan, taking refuge on a Japanese war ship. In his train when he arrived at the Chinese theatre were Soy Kee, Chu Si Kong, of Chicago; Charlie Yip Yen, of Vancouver, B. C.; Pow Chee, the reformer’s interpreter and Wong Wai Chee. These Celestials are to meet to-night at a banquet at No. 14 Mott street, which is Mon Far Low’s restaurant “For All Nations.”
New York Sun, May 14, 1903
China’s Boss Reformer HereLeong Kai Cheu Is Seeking to Arouse Enthusiasm.Had Trouble Running a Newspaper in His Native Land, So He Tried Awhile in Japan—Will Lecture Here Almost Daily—Dinner in His Honor Last Night.Prof. Leong Kai Ka Cheu, reformer, late of China, but now resident of Japan, where he edits a new reform newspaper every day, gathered all New York’s Chinatown around him in the Chinese theatre in Doyers street yesterday to listen to a lecture on reform. Prof. Leong’s friends say he is the William Travers Jerome of China—“man who acts by day and night.”Prof. Leong is a hustler. He got his degree of A. B. when he was only 12 years old and the degree of A. M. when he was 16. When he was 19 he took the Imperial examinations and became tutor at the Hun-on Palace, according to his friends. He tutored for a year and a half ht and then started a daily newspaper.The editorials of Prof. Leong were so radically that the Empress Dowager made him shut up shop. He went to Pekin and tried to run his paper again. The Empress for some reason apparently didn’t want him killed or didn’t know just how to accomplish it, so she finally got him the job of director of the Woo Nan University, hoping that he would keep quiet.He didn’t remain quiet and when the Empress Dowager’s enemies heard, just before the outbreak of the war in China, that she was going to decapitate a lot of people he skipped to Japan. A Japanese warship helped him in his escape.Arrived in Japan, Prof. Leong saw no reason why he should not continue editing a reform newspaper for benighted Chinese. When the Chinese officials saw the reform editorials they said the paper must not enter China. Prof. Leong thereupon changed its name and got out another issue before the officials discovered the subterfuge.“And this he did at every ever issue,” said Loo Sin of 14 Mott street, a member of the committee of welcome. “It was like this: One day the paper would be the “Sun.” Next day it would be the “World” and next day the “Herald” and so on, and so on. Names are easy to get.”Prof. Leong arrived on the Pacific Coast several weeks ago and is making a tour of the country to interest Chinese in reform at home. By reform he means more schools, hospitals, a Chinese navy for the Chinese and no more graft for the Manchurians. The war cry is “China for the Chinese.”Prof. Leong, who is only 30 years year old and who wears American clothes, is accompanied here by his interpreter, Pow Chee; Chu Si Kong, head of the Chinese reformers in Chicago; Charlie Yip Yen, the boss reformer of Vancouver, B. C., and two others.They arrived at the Grand Central Station on Monday night and were met by a reception committee of twenty-six New York Chinamen, each of whom wore a silk hat and a big yellow badge. Prof. Leong and his travelling companions lectured yesterday afternoon to about about 2,000 Chinese in the little Doyers street theatre. As many more were unable to get in.Leong and his associates will be here for several weeks. Lectures will be held almost every day. Last night the whole party met the representative men of Chinatown at Mon Far Low’s restaurant at 14 Mott street. The only toast was “Reform.” Proprietor Mon Far Low, who is no relative of Mayor Low, provided champagne in which to drink the toast.
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The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York), August 30, 1903, noted the dining experience by one of its residents.
Lives to Tell Tale.Rochester Man Passes Through a Weird Experience in China Restaurant.Thomas Verhoeven, of this city, has just returned from a trip to New York. Mr. Verhoeven has many surprising incidents to relate connected with his trip, but the one he delights in dwelling on the longest is a dinner that he took at the Mon Far Low, the leading Chinese restaurant in New York city, conducted by Loo Lin.The most surprising thing connected with the repast is that Mr. Verhoeven is alive to tell the tale, for after a man has dined on “Hing Sun Chop Sooy,” “Chu Gay Squab,” “Sweet and Pungent Chicken,” “Edible Birds’ Nests,” “Yellow Fish Brain,” “Sharks’ Fins,” “Bok Du Qual Chu,” “Ya Ko Main,” and many other like delicacies, if he escapes the grave, death can have few terrors.
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The birth and celebration of Lee Yick You’s son was covered in several newspapers.
The New York Times, March 29, 1904
Chinatown to Have Birthday Party.Francis M. Hamilton, Solicitor to Collector Stranahan, and several other members of the Customs Service received elaborately engraved invitations yesterday from Mr. and Mrs. Lee Yick Yon [sic] for a banquet at 14 Mott Street next Thursday evening in honor of the birth of their son. Lee Gin Yon. Lee Yick Yon is a large importer of Chinese merchandise.
New York Herald, April 1, 1904
Occident and Orient at Chinese FeastNew Yorkers in Evening Dress Guests of Mr. Lee Yick You at Typical Birthday Festival.Seventy women and men clad in conventional evening dress and a score of the Sons of the Celestial Empire sat together last evening at a dinner unique in its appointments and lavishly strange and generous as to its edibles.The host of the entertainment, which was served in a private dining room of Mon Far Low’s Chinese restaurant, at No. 14 Mott street, was Mr. Lee Yick You, a wealthy importer, of No. 34 Pell street, and in giving the feast the host was following out an ancient custom of the Yellow Empire and honoring Mrs. Lee Yick You, whose youngest child, Master Lee Gin You, was one month old yesterday.The guest was Mr. Francis M. Hamilton, Solicitor of the Custom House. Mr. Yan Phou Lee, a graduate of Yale and a wealthy importer of this city, presided.The decorations were exceedingly ornate, the tables being covered with flowers strange in form and color, while on the walls and suspended from the ceiling were silken banners bearing the device of the dragon.During the dinner Master Lee Gin You, clad in rich robes of red silk and as fat and wide awake a little youngster as ever opened his eyes on an evening gathering, was brought in by a Chinese maid and passed around among the company. The ladles were permitted to kiss the youngster, and his health and that of his mother was drunk by all present. Master You looked at the proceedings through his almond shaped eyes, but made no comment.
The New York Press, April 1, 1904
Chinese Baby at a Dinner.Many Government Employee Guests of Proud Father, Lee Yick YouSeventy men and women clad in conventional evening dress and a score of Chinese say together last evening at a dinner odd in its appointments.It was served in a private dining room of Mon Far Low’s restaurant in No. 14 Mott street, and the host was Lee Yick You, a wealthy importer of No. 34 Pell street. He was honoring Mrs. Lee Yick You, whose youngest child, Lee Gin You, was one month old yesterday. The chief guest was Francis M. Hamilton, solicitor of the Custom House, and the other guests included a dozen members of the United States Appraisers’ staff. Yan Phou Lee, a graduate of Yale, presided.The tables were covered with strange flowers, and there were silken banners and lanterns on all sides. The menu included such dishes as pineapple chicken, fried spring squab, bird’s nest soup, sharks’ fins, yellowfish brains, jun gee duck and but bow chicken, all go which were washed down with real Sui Shen and long sou teas.Lee Gin You, in rich robes of red silk, was brought in by a Chinese maid and passed around among the company. The women were permitted to kiss the youngster, and his health was drunk.
The New York Times, April 1, 1904
Big Fete for Celestial Baby.Company Honors Master lee Gin You at Banquet in Chinatown.Seventy women and men clad in conventional evening dress and a score of the sons of the Celestial Empire were the guests at dinner last evening of Lee Yick You, an importer at 34 Pell Street. It was served in a private dining room of Mon Far Low’s Chinese restaurant at 14 Mott Street. In giving the feast the host was following out an ancient Chinese custom in honoring Mrs. Lee Yick You, whose youngest child, Master Lee Gin You, was one month old yesterday.The guest of honor was Francis M. Hamilton, Solicitor of the Custom House. Yan Phou Lee, a graduate of Yale, and a wealthy importer of this city, presided. The tables were covered with flowers, strange both in form and color, while on the walls and suspended from the celling were silken banners bearing the device of the dragon, and bewildering as to color were other flags, banners, and lanterns.The menu included dishes dear to the Celestial heart, such as pine apple chicken, fried Spring squab, mushroom chicken, bird’s nest soup, shark’s fins, yellow fish brains, chestnut chicken, and Jun Gee duck, washed down with Sui Shen and Long Sou teas specially imported for the occasion.During the dinner Master Lee Gin You, clad in rich robes of red silk, was brought in by a Chinese maid and passed around among the company. The ladles were permitted to kiss the youngster, and his health and that of his mother was drunk by all present.Complimentary addresses were made by Mr. Hamilton, Miss Harriet Quimbey, a newspaper woman of San Francisco; Capt. William Lee, Treasury Agent D. E. Galboldy, and Capt. Howard Patterson of the New York Nautical School.
Trow’s General Directory of the Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, City of New York, July 1, 1904 had a listing for “Mine Far Low” at 14 Mott Street.
14 Mott Street on the right;
Mine Far Low Restaurant sign
Date unknown
The New York Times, November 2, 1904, said
Chinatown’s Cupid Busy.Winged Three Couples in One Night at Chop Suey Parlor.
Three men, two maids, and a dashing young widow made a hastily planned trip through Chinatown one night six weeks ago. Before the outing ended the Chinese Cupid had paired them off. Two of the three couples are already wedded. The third will follow suit the first week of the new year.From all accounts the little god began to get busy when the chop suey was served in Loo Ling’s restaurant, 14 Mott Street. The first wedding took place within a month, when ex-Congressman Henry Cassorte Smith of Michigan, now general counsel of the Michigan Central Railroad, and Miss Virginia Bassett were married at the Church of the Transfiguration. ...
Mon Far Low’s fine was rescinded according to The City Record (New York), November 4, 1904.
Resolved, That the Corporation Counsel be and is hereby requested to discontinue without costs the actions against the following named persons for violations of the Sanitary Code and of the Health Laws, the Inspector having reported the orders therein complied with, or the nuisances complained of abated, a permit having been granted or violations removed, or the orders rescinded, to wit:
Mon Far Low 1,022
14 Mott Street, second building from
the right; circa 1904
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SIDEBAR: Loo Lin’s Wife’s Trip to America Was Tangled in Red Tape
New York Herald, May 25, 1903
Chinese Wife Asks Aid of PresidentBarred from Husband by Red Tape, Mrs. Loo-Lin Appeals to Mr. Roosevelt.Effect of Queer LawBecause He Owns Restaurant She Is Classed as Laborer’s Wife.Both Are Well EducatedWoman Detained at San Francisco by Immigration Authorities for Weeks.Loo Lin Ben, leader of the progressive element in New York’s Chinatown, a man of culture and learning, thoroughly Americanized in most of his ways, announced last night that he had fallen back upon his early philosophy to comfort him in his distress resulting from the treatment his wife is receiving at the hands of the United States immigration officials. Mrs. Loo Lin, a woman of refinement, a teacher of recognized ability in her own country, has been held a prisoner in the detention pen in San Francisco merely because her husband, though a merchant, happens to own an interest in a restaurant.For some reason the United States government chooses to class the owner of a restaurant as a laborer, and as a Chinese laborer has no right to bring his foreign wife to this country little Mrs. Loo Lin must suffer until some official has the nerve to cut the red tape that bars her from American shores.Loo Lin’s countrymen regard him with affection, and they trust him. His American friends also trust and respect him. He has done more than any other person to drive crime from Mott and Pell streets. He is a member of the First Baptist Church, Seventy-ninth street and Broadway, and he has been active in forwarding the interests of the Morning Star Mission for Chinamen. For several years he was at the head of that mission, and he has long been a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association.Loo is the senior member of the firm of G. Ton Toy & Co., at No. 3 Mott street, where a General merchandise business is carried on. He is also associated with his brother in the restaurant at No. 14 Mott street, known as Mon Far Low, which translated into English, is “The Restaurant of Countless Flowers.” To a reporter for the Herald Loo Lin yesterday told the following story of his troubles:—“I try to be patient, but there is nothing that I have learned since my arrival in the United States, fifteen years ago, that gives me any assistance. I know that everything will come out right in the end, and in the meantime I must be a Chinese philosopher.“In the first place, my wife is not a woman of the ordinary type known in this country. She is progressive, is well educated, has been a teacher in Canton for several years, her writings have been regarded as meritorious, and, finally, she has been the editor of a real newspaper, devoted to the interests of Chinese women.“Well as I like America and the ways of Americans, I desired a wife of my own race. I wanted to marry a girl whom my mother would approve. So it happened that five years ago I returned to China. There I was introduced to Mak Chue by Mrs. R. H. Graves, the wife of the American medical missionary in Canton. Mrs. Graves, who, with her husband, is now making a visit to her relatives in Maryland, had known Mak Chue for many years, and knew her to be a bright girl and of a nature that would permit her to enjoy life in the United States.“Mak Chue was then nineteen years old, and to me she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Well, I wanted Mak Chue for my wife, but I would do nothing without the approval of my mother, the good Liang Loo. To her I went, and to my joy found that she approved Mak Chue and was more than willing to accept her as a daughter-in-law. We were married, and there were present when the ceremony was performed my mother and my sisters. Loo Fong and Loo See, and among others Dr. and Mrs. Graves and Mrs. Claudia J. White, who is now living in San Francisco, but who was then a teacher in Canton. My wife went to live with my mother, who was to teach her the traditions of my family. I returned to New York, it being understood that my wife would come to me at the end of five years.“Now she has come to make my home her home, and she is held a prisoner in the detention shed on the Pacific Mail wharf in San Francisco. She has been there a month. But she is a philosopher and she has not yet lost confidence in the goodness of the Western World. We are to live not here in Chinatown, but up where there is more light and air and sunshine. My wife will teach in Chinatown, and, indeed, arrangements have already been made for her to take a class of children who do not understand the English language. But when will she be here? I do not know. She is held a prisoner because I own this restaurant and so must be called a laborer. If I sold tea and nothing more there would be no trouble. However, I have many good friends and I am confident that the red tape will soon be cut and everything will be well. I have appealed to President Roosevelt and I am told that he will help me. Perhaps it will not be necessary to wait for his return to Washington. I hope not.”
San Francisco Call, May 25, 1903
Loo Lin Talks of Wife’s WoesHusband of the Chinese “New Woman” Hopes for the Best.Believes Her Imprisonment in San Francisco Will End Soon.New York, May 24.— The Herald will say to-morrow: Loo Lin Ben, leader of the progressive element in New York’s Chinatown, a man of learning and thoroughly Americanized in most of his ways, announced to-night that he had fallen back upon his early philosophy to comfort him in the distress resulting from the treatment his wife is receiving at the hands of United States immigration officials. Mrs. Loo Lin has been held a prisoner in the detention pen in San Francisco because her husband, though a merchant, happens to own an interest in a restaurant. Loo is senior member of the firm of G. Tomtoy & Co., at 3 Mott street, where a general merchandise business is carried on. He is also associated with his brother in a restaurant at 14 Mott street, known as Mon Far Low, which, translated into English, is “The Restaurant of Countless Flowers.” Loo said to-night:My wife is not a woman of the ordinary type known in this country. She is progressive, is well educated, has been a teacher in Canton for several years, her writings have been regarded as meritorious, and, finally, she has been editor of a real newspaper devoted to the interests of Chinese women. She is held a prisoner in the detention shed on the Pacific Mail wharf in San Francisco. She has been there a month. My wife expects to teach in New York and arrangements have already been made for her to take charge of a school for children who do not understand the English language. I have many good friends and I am confident that the “red tape” will soon be cut and everything will be well. The case has been appealed to Washington and I am receiving assistance from men of high standing in New York.The World will say to-morrow that Loo Lin has friends who concluded that as Americans they would not stand by and see what they deemed a piece of stupidity and injustice pass and they determined that Mrs. Loo Lin should come in. The appeal will reach Washington in a few days, and there is no doubt, says the World, that the department will overrule the absurd decision of the New York inspector, who reports Loo Lin to be a “laborer” because he owned a restaurant in addition to his mercantile business.There are several peculiar things about the manner which the case of Mrs. Loo Lin has been handled that will call for action at the proper time, say the friends of Loo Lin.Mrs. Loo Lin, the Chinese “new woman,” who has been detained in the sheds of the Pacific Mall Steamship Company, by instructions of the Chinese Bureau, for more than a month, pending the unraveling of a “red tape” tangle involving her right to land, is quite ill, and has requested the attendance of a physician. She has been enduring in great patience her enforced imprisonment, but her general health has been impaired by the long confinement. Sympathizers in this city are doing as much as possible to provide for her comfort, though handicapped by her cheerless environment.
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New York Herald, September 15, 1903
Chinese School Failed to OpenKindergarten in Mott Street Missed Its teacher and Operations Were Postponed.Mrs. Loo Lin Was DelayedHeld in San Francisco, the Head of the Institution Had to Provide a Heavy Bond.There was one part of the local school system which did not get into operation yesterday, and that was the kindergarten to be conducted for Chinatown, at No. 11 1/2 Mott street, under the auspices of the New York Presbytery. The reason was the non-arrival from China of the pretty wife of Loo Linn, a well known merchant of that section of the city, who lives at No. 14 Mott street.Mrs. Loo Linn came from China to San Francisco last April with the Rev. Dr. Gray, but was held there under the Chinese exclusion act for forty-two days. Her husband has been in this city for twelve years. He made some money in the laundry business and seven yearn ago went back to China and was married. He returned to the United States the following year, leaving his wife after him in Canton, where she was a teacher in the college attached to the Baptist mission there. Since he has prospered as a merchant.He enlisted the sympathy of the mission authorities here and in San Francisco, and the necessary papers having been forwarded to Washington she was released under a bond of $1.000. furnished by the Canadian Pacific Railroad. She then went to Montreal, where she has been staying since.She is expected to arrive in this city to-day, and will receive a warm reception in Chinatown. She will take charge of the Chinatown kindergarten at once.
New York Sun, September 23, 1903
Kept Apart by Red Tape.Mrs. Loo Lin, the Christianized Chinese wife of Loo Lin a restaurant keeper at 14 Mott street, and who has been the subject of much correspondence between tho port authorities and her Christian missionary friends, reached her husband safely last night, exactly five months after leaving the Canton Baptist Academy.All her troubles in getting into the country were because she did not carry with her from China the proper passports. She came with the credentials of a merchant’s wife, and upon her arrival at San Francisco learned that restaurant keepers were not officially recognized as ”merchants.”The Rev. R. H. Graves and his wife, who accompanied her, offered the Government authorities all sorts of identifications and recommendations, but it was impossible to sever the red tape until a new set of passports arrived from China.Mrs. Loo Lin was detained in San Francisco, but the Canadian Pacific Railroad put up a $1,000 bond, under which she was allowed to go on to Montreal to live with missionary friends. Last month passports identifying her as a Christian missionary teacher arrived but it was not until Monday that she went before United States Inspector F. W. Berkshire at Malone, N. Y., to be passed upon.She was permitted to go as soon as it was satisfactorily established that she really intended to do mission work. Miss Helen F. Clark of the New York Foreigners’ Mission Society, who was her sponsor before the authorities, brought her to join her husband.Loo Lin met his wife at the Grand Central Station, accompanied by a party of his Christianized Chinese friends. Husband and wife kissed in true Occidental fashion. Mrs. Loo Lm was dressed in blue clothes of a sober cut, not unlike the Salvation Army uniform. She took a great interest in her husband’s restaurant, and spent her first hour at home in inspecting his kitchen.
New York Tribune, September 23, 1903
Loo Linn Gets His WifeChinese Woman Arrives in Mott-st. and Is Happy.After a separation of five years, Loo Linn, the proprietor of the Man [sic] Far Low restaurant, at No. 14 Mott-st., and his faithful young wife were reunted [sic] last evening at the Grand Central Station. The story is a romance of the Chinese immigration laws. …
Columbia Republican (New York), October 1, 1903
Spoke in Greendale.First Chinese Woman That Many Have Seen Around Here.The people of Greenport had an unusual treat last Sunday evening. Mr and Mrs Loo Lin, formerly of Canton and now of New York, spoke and sang in the Greendale Reformed church both in English and Chinese. Mr Loo Lin has made his home in this country for several years. He is the prosperous proprietor of a high class Chinese restaurant at 14 Mott Street, New York city. Mrs Loo Lin has been for some time a Bible reader in Canton. She desired to join her husband in this country but such is the stringency of the law excluding Chinese that it is only after months of waiting in Montreal that she has at last been enabled to enter as a Christian worker. She expects to do Christian work and teaching among the Chinese women and children of New York, of whom there are more than a hundred. Mr Loo Lin has the bearing of a Christian gentleman, while his wife, the first Chinese woman that many around here have seen, has the fair face and gentle manner that proclaim the lady. They are at present the guests of Mr and Mrs Seaman Miller of Germantown and New York, and it was through their kindness that the people of Greenport enjoyed and profited by this unusual exercise.
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New York Sun, October 11, 1903
Comes From China to Teach
Mrs. Loo Lin’s Mission to Her Countrywomen Here.
New York Sun, June 29, 1904
New China Domestic.Loo Lin, the Father of a Nine Pounder Eligible for the Presidency.Four Chinamen were standing in front of Loo Lin’s place at 14 Mott street early yesterday morning. Loo Lin is one of Chinatown’s most prosperous and popular merchants.A little man in homespun turned into Mott street from Chatham Square. The yellow skin of his chubby face was puckered into folds with a smile. He looked velly happy and velly proud.There were nudges and gestures and a wise wagging of head among the four Chinamen in front of 14. They advanced to meet the little man with a smile and to meet the little man with a smile and stopped in front of him in a businesslike way. He stopped also, widened his smile, closed his eyes in a way suggestive of a wink and said something that didn’t sound at all like a description of a newly born Chinese boy. The little man was Loo Lin.Soon afterward the smoke of burning joss sticks floated in thick clouds from the windows of Loo Lin’s place and from the windows of the places of his friends in Mott street. Peacock feathers and other things of many colors suggestive of joy and prosperity appeared one the balconies and a crowd filed into Loo Lin’s restaurant where they jabbered congratulations, took more than a few drinks of white stuff, which looked like gin, but wasn’t, and ate rice. It’s pretty certain that no other little Chinese upon his arrival in this country, ever raised so variegated a fuss in Chinatown as little Loo. It’s pretty certain also that Loo Lin never knew that he had so many friends till yesterday.The blow-out cost him many dollars. The youngster—none pounds—arrived at Loo Lin’s home in Brooklyn last Sunday night, but yesterday was the first time Loo Lin had appeared in Chinatown since the event. The four friends who stood in front of his place representing other Chinamen with appetites, had been on the watch over since the report of the new arrival reached Mott street.The mother has been in this country for about two years. When she came over she was held for several months by the immigration authorities in San Francisco and Canada and Loo Lin had much more trouble in getting her free from them than he had had in winning her affection.
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(Next post on Wednesday: Dining at 14 Mott Street in New York Chinatown, Part 3: 1905–1915)
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