Wicked Victorian Boston by Robert Wilhelm

Author:Robert Wilhelm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2017-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Warry S. Charles. From Boston Sunday Post, August 11, 1907.

The investigation suffered from the usual complaint: most of the Chinatown residents questioned could not or would not admit to understanding English. Ah Moy Chong was brought in for questioning because he fit the description and his violent reputation was well known to the police, but he had an alibi. Ah Moy Chong spoke fluent English, and before he was released, he expressed the opinion that the killer was not Chinese. He also recommended that the police hire his cousin as an interpreter. They politely declined.

They did, however, bring in a professional interpreter from New York City, a Chinese man who went by the name of Warry S. Charles (“Chinese name” Joe Swen). Charles wore his hair short and dressed in western clothing, and although he was fluent in both languages, he was not fully trusted in Chinatown. He was inclined to think that the murder was premeditated and the killer was Chinese and someone who knew the victim well or he would not have allowed him to remain in the laundry at night. He did not believe the killer was a member of the western hatchet society that had murdered a man in St. Louis a year or so earlier, as some had suggested.

None of the information gathered by Warry Charles brought the police any closer to solving the Wash-House Murder. The case grew colder, and it became apparent to everyone that the murder would never be solved. Before long, the crime faded from memory. The police continued to watch Chinatown and included the rooms on Harrison Avenue in their increasingly frequent gambling raids throughout the city.

Warry Charles decided to remain in Boston, working as an interpreter for the city. He also bought a lucrative laundry on Beacon Hill and became a member of the Sing company, eventually taking a leadership role. Very gradually, Bostonians of Chinese descent spread beyond the bounds of Chinatown to become part of the city at large.

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