Watch tower letter

Translation

My Elder Brother, please be informed: Yesterday, regarding the matter of our village raising funds to build a Watchtower (建更樓), we had already sent a letter. However, none of you have sent a letter in reply, so we do not know the situation.

It seems that everyone in Gold Mountain (金山) regards this as an unimportant matter. Thinking about this—if this project does not succeed, the people in our village and those overseas in The United States (Flower Flag/花旗), Luzon (Philippines/呂宋), Honolulu (檀香山), and Havana (Cuba/亞灣)—our close brothers, not distant relatives—will all say it is because the people in Gold Mountain are not warm-hearted and failed to cooperate.

Moreover, building the Watchtower is a plan to guarantee eternal peace (保太平). You absolutely must not regard it as a trivial matter. If this matter is successful, it is better than everyone buying [luxuries/property?]... One branch is already too much, and we cannot bear it... Moreover, people are currently arriving to pledge actual donation amounts.

Separately, we have planned for three people [names omitted]... each name to contribute British Gold (Pounds) valued at 6 Yuan... We do not know how much [from] Havana and Xin'an... We do not know how much [from] Honolulu...

You must sign the donation subscription and send a letter with your contribution at an early date, to avoid everyone mocking us. This is for the best. We hope everyone is at peace. We are deeply concerned and write this special note. Urgent instructions. Replies from [Younger Brothers] Dian and Da. Peace be with you immediately. Bing Chen Year (1916), 4th Month, 3rd Day.