Title: The Survey April-September 1920
Year: 1920 (1920s)
Authors: Survey Associates Charity Organization Society of the City of New York
Subjects: Charities Social problems
Publisher: East Stroudsburg, Pa., Survey Associates
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: Algoma University, Trent University, Lakehead University, Laurentian University, Nipissing University, Ryerson University and University of Toronto Libraries

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o Wongsfather, and had returned to venerate his aged mother.Through him Wongs father heard of the strange overseasland where green-eyed, red-haired men lived. Thus Wongwas not destined to be either pirate or kingfisher feather-worker, nor was he to build railroads in the tiger-infestedjungles of Java, nor to can salmon in Alaska. His coursehappened to be southward. One day the hatches were unlocked. Out of a stiflinghold came a line of coolies. One was Wong. Ashore, Wong bunked in an Australian Chinatown. Evenin the monotonous misery of his journey toward it he hadgained a little knowledge of the new world ahead. He knewalready that walkee, walkee meant anything from a pil-grimage on foot to a journey in a train. He could say Nohave got, top side, long time no see, and a few otherexpressions in pidgin-English. It did not take him manyweeks to discover what the immigrant to Australia as well a?to America learns—that lack of English means lower wages 29 30 THE SURVEY FOR APRIL 3, 1920

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THE WHEEL Presbyterian Mission Playground at Hainan, an islandsouth of Formosa He began to look about for a chance to learn English forexactly the same reasons that had set his piratical forebears toscanning the horizon for a sail. Wongs expedition to thesouthland was entirely mercenary. About this time Wong heard of the Mission School. Some-body there taught English to Chinese coolies without price.Wong could not puzzle out why they did. To his practicalmind it seemed poor business. Yet both his friends, Changand Fong, were drawing bigger pay because of the eveningsthey spent there. So Wong ventured across the thresholdand made progress. He had the marvelous memory typicalof the Oriental. It is a long story from the first lesson, with strange wordsand funny letters, so different from Chinese ideographs, tothe day when Wong earned the right to use two of the former,an M and a D, after his name. The story is one of theawakening of a desire to do something more than the chop-ping of euc

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