The Lucky Winner of the Auto
A resident of Wallula discovers he holds the winning ticket for an automobile, but his interest is strictly in the cash.
Wee Chung, a resident of Wallula, was the happiest man in Walla Walla today. While searching through his pockets, he discovered he held the winning ticket for the automobile given away by the Whitehouse Clothing Company on New Year's Day. Chung immediately made his way to the store and, with a smile, informed the management of his win. When asked what he was going to do with the machine, he replied, 'Oh, I no want it. I sell it. How much you give?' A bystander in a spirit of fun offered him $400, but Chung showed his wisdom and scornfully refused the offer. 'I sell 'em for $800. Think that heap cheap.'
“I sell 'em for $800. Think that heap cheap.”
While the reporting employs the casual, patronizing 'orientalism' of 1904, the story centers on a man asserting his financial autonomy against a public that assumed he would be naive. It provides a rare, albeit filtered, glimpse of a member of the Chinese community interacting with Walla Walla's commercial hub.
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