USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. II > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54
392
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
needs is that kind of public spirit so hard to obtain, but so emi- nently satisfactory in its results, which acts unitedly and un- selfishly, that pulls together, and self-sacrificingly too, for the public weal. Again, there has been too much in the way of premature improvement-assessments for streets and sewers not yet needed, which, being of wood, will be rotten when they are wanted ; too heavy taxation and too large an interest on taxes overdue (twenty per cent)-a hard burden to be carried by those who would pay if they could. The free horse of city improve- ments has certainly been driven to death in Tacoma. So much, and possibly a thought too much, of plain talk on possible mis- takes. We turn with infinite pleasure to the sunny side of as- sured results and evidences of growing prosperity.
Look where you will, it is everywhere visible-banks crowded with depositors, with steady business and large showings of sur- plus gains ; stores well stocked with every sort of merchandise ; a harbor where more than one great ship folds its white wings while it receives its lading ; huge coal-bunkers filled to overflowing with the product of inland mines ; churches lacking neither eloquence in the pulpit nor reverence in the crowded pews ; business of all kinds ; homes rich in æsthetic externals and artistic adornments within ; a great industrial exposition building run up in ninety days, thronged with its thousands of curious visitors in exhibi- tion time ; wharves lively with steamers ; rails crowded with incoming or outgoing freight and passengers ; tide flats-or mud flats, as you please-of to-day, destined to become the Venice of the future, now nothing more than a vast unsightly shoal, almost or quite bare with the receding tide, where the great lumber mills alone, with their surrounding cabins and the black trestle bridge of the railroad, invade its borders, through which the slimy, sluggish tide of the Puyallup winds its crooked way -and a dirty crook it is, from low association with " the flats." Built by the still growing deposits of centuries, brought down by the freshets from the hills, the " tide flats," as we have sug- gested, are one day destined to become the manufacturing Venice of Tacoma, being naturally canalled by the Puyallup, and reach- ing boldly out to suddenly subside in the deep water of the bay. Here the outer sea wall will be, here the great ships and steam- ers will lie convenient to their cargoes. It will be a Venice of energy and action, busy with the life of trade, not like its name-
393
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
sake, a city of water-washed palaces falling to decay, of glid- ing gondolas, of sea-wedding Doges, of bridges echoing the sighs of unhappy captives, or memories linked with poison, torture, deadly jealousies and swift revenge-in a word, a Venice whose only cloud shall be the smoke of colossal factories, where tinkling guitars and midnight serenades shall be more sonorously re- placed by the throb and roar of machinery and the clang of the foundry.
Already Tacoma has one of the largest smelters on the coast converting its car loads of ores. It would exhaust space to specify the manifold ramifications of its wholesale and retail trade.
The location of the City of Destiny, like that of her sisters of the sound, is on a series of high bluffs ascending for the most part abruptly from the bay. Her principal business street- Pacific Avenue-is, however, after reaching the top of the slope, perfectly level. In regularity of plan and general width of her avenues and other thoroughfares she excels Seattle. In things acquired Tacoma may boast a population second in char- acter, intelligence, and respectability to none-in hotels, the Tacoma, Fife, and others of lesser note, with the huge hostelry in process of erection amply supplies present needs ; a fine fire department, only injudicious in not permitting certain localities once and again ignited to burn and make way for better improve- ments ; a police, mounted and ordinary, apparently efficient ; excellently well-drilled companies to represent the soldierly char- acter and careful training of her State troops, who in this matter owe much to the genius and enthusiasm of Captain Fife ; fraterni- ties of all kinds, literary, ecclesiastical and benevolent ; a society the kaleidoscope of whose brilliant and of course exclusive " four hundred" presents every shade of " high tea"' to all prop- erly endorsed guests of its sacred inner circle, to say nothing of that well-bred, more truly refined and sensible membership, whose quieter if less elaborate hospitalities wear all the charm of home comfort and sincere welcome. In the matter of schools 'and other educational facilities she stands unsurpassed, and the moral forces suffer no stagnation for want of influence to action or fields in which to employ their philanthropic labors. And when we come to the learned professions-law, physic, and divinity-it suffices to say that no man need suffer in mind,
394
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
body, or estate, provided he have the wherewithal to pay for advice, for lack of spiritual, legal, or medical counsel ; for every known and some unknown creeds are represented in her clerics, to say nothing of lay preachers, who would not hesitate to riddle the hardest sayings of St. Paul. And as for physicians, you have only to choose the particular school you may desire to graduate from into angelhood to obtain every assistance from that faculty. The lawyers-well, of these we will say nothing, for from learned judge to new-fledged attorney, their " shingles " are plentiful as leaves in Vallombrosa. What more would you desire of all the good things of this mortal life than are to be found in Tacoma, the beautiful City of Destiny ?
R. L. Boyle
CHAPTER XXXVIII. '
EXPULSION OF THE CHINESE FROM TACOMA,
" Filthy in food as birds of prey, Or beastly dens in which they lay, Selfish and careless of their kind, In morals famed for vulgar mind. Their sole ambition wealth to earn, Then to their native land return, And in that Flowery Kingdom find The graves of those they left behind. Tacoma fiercely drove them forth, To them the terror of the North ; For ' velly well ' those heathen know,
' Me sabe ' Chinaman must go."
-BREWERTON.
ONE of the most remarkable episodes of the latter years of Washington's territorial history was the expulsion of the Chi- nese by the citizens of Tacoma-an attempt which in Seattle had ended in defeat, but which in the City of Destiny was so per- fect a success that no Chinaman dwells within or has willingly visited its limits up to the present day. Indeed, if there be any trisyllable more calculated than another to make every par- ticular hair of a Chinaman's queue rise up in terror, that word is Tacoma.
In its narration of the events and incidents which led up to and finally eventuated in their entire expulsion, the Tacoma Ledger daintily heads its history : "They all went away-How the Chinese were persuaded to depart -- Tacomians say good-by and good riddance to the heathen horde." "Persuaded" is a delicately suggestive word in this connection, and a word sus- ceptible of many degrees of difference. The "persuasion" in this instance seems to have been stretched to the very verge of gentle coercion, even if it did not go a shade beyond it.
Quoting in outline, or, rather, condensing, as we go, the main facts of their enforced exodus are given as follows. It is pref-
18
398
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
aced by a little special pleading to justify, though there is no disposition to apologize for, the act, which covers the usual charge of being generally disagreeable, and, as a writer, who appeared to speak from experience, diagnosed the Indian, "a nuisance wherever found." The Ledger, moreover, seemed to think that " laboring men would find Tacoma a pleasanter place to reside in, in consequence, than the other Chinese-enduring cities of the sound."
These considerations, says the editor, in a minor degree aided in inciting the people of Tacoma six years ago to expel from their midst about twelve hundred of the representatives of the yellow-skinned Mongolians who had found habitations within their limits. In a greater degree, perhaps, were the natural feelings of repugnance and disgust at the squalor, the filth, and disease-breeding beds of the detested race the motive cause of the uprising. Fifteen men were the apparent heads of the movement ; but the fifteen men were chosen by the mass, and were but obeying the call, and working, generally speaking, by their direction.
The chief nests of the Chinamen in Tacoma were along the water front, their houses or shacks being built upon piles on the upper side of the Northern Pacific wharf, near the Tacoma mill in Old Town, and on C Street, from Eleventh to Thirteenth, and Railroad Street, from Seventh to Ninth. By far the greater number dwelt on the water front, which was a miserable com- bination of men, women and children, hogs, chickens and ducks. Living in horrible degradation-not greater, probably, than is customary among American Chinese, but horrible for the con- templation of a Tacomian in his own city. Their sewer system was the only cleanly thing about the dens, and this was so only because the ocean tides furnished the means of disposing of their garbage. Between one thousand and twelve hundred. Chinamen dwelt in Tacoma at that time, and our people never took kindly to them. They were engaged in labor of all kinds ; there were a few tradesmen, a few skilled laborers, and some women and children among them. They never owned a foot of real estate in the city, but some of them had shacks of their own. Most of them rented buildings put up by white men.
Murmurings were always heard against them. The laboring men felt that the Chinese usurped their rights and degraded
399
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
them, and most of our people considered their presence an in- jury to the city. Very few people defended them. More thought that no violent means should be taken to rid the town of the pest, and while expressing their regret that the Chinese were here, were nevertheless certain that they must be tolerated. Their argument was : "There is no lawful means of ridding the city of them ; they will not go at our request ; if we use violence the State will aid them, blood will be shed, and our city dis- graced in the eyes of all civilized people." Notwithstanding this plausible argument, however, the feeling grew, and was constantly manifested by resolutions passed by various bodies, chiefly labor organizations.
The first general anti-Chinese meeting was held on February 22d, 1885-and it was a lively one-at which Mayor R. I. Weis- bach appeared on the platform and made an address, which was greeted with enthusiasm ; and two ministers also took part. The preachers who talked were Revs. Thompson and Ward. After the Mayor's address a series of resolutions were adopted, which covered the usual arguments against the presence or em- ployment of the Chinese, and provided for the appointment of a committee of three from each ward (there then being but three) to " perform all such proper acts as in their judgment might be deemed necessary to secure the expulsion of the Chinese." The committee so appointed, most of whom are respected residents of Tacoma to-day, were as follows : Dr. Spinning, John N. Fuller, Dr. Beardsley, representing the First Ward ; W. I. Thompson, Jacob Ralph, M. I. Coggswell, Second Ward ; Frank Magill, J. B. Abler, William Christie, Third Ward.
Shortly after the appointment of these gentlemen a com- munication appeared in the Ledger from Mayor Weisbach, which did nothing to pour oil on the troubled waters, but fanned, as it was intended to do, the flame of discontent into burning still more fiercely. The Mayor wrote as " a private citizen," point- ing out the danger to the American people of finally merging with so inferior a race, and the yearly loss from the drain to China of the large sums sent back by them. The next meeting was more largely attended, and was held in the Alpha Opera House. The following resolutions were adopted :
" Whereas, It is notorious that the Chinese have invaded some of the best business blocks and streets of our city, and are
400
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
still extending their quarters, containing wash-houses, opium dens, and other vices to the jeopardy of the health, morals, and dignity of our city, as a law-abiding community ; therefore,
" Resolved, That we ask the Mayor and Common Council of this city to take such steps as are necessary to remove the nuisance specified, by either establishing limits within which the Chinese shall not be allowed to reside, or by such means and in such manner as they in their wisdom may deem best."
Enthusiastic speeches were made at this meeting, echoing the sentiments which every one attending it felt. The feeling was by this time growing so strong that it became the chief topic of conversation on the streets, at home, in places of social gath- ering, in business offices-everywhere, in short, it was the all- absorbing question. The aggressor in these discussions was almost invariably the champion of the Chinese, who were de- risively called " white Chinamen," and many other equally com- plimentary names. This side felt it necessary to combat the evident purpose of the " antis," and were constant in their pro- test against violence of any kind, or even against any step look- ing toward the removal of these pig-tailed people whose cunning, little eyes are cut upon the bias. They were also often accused, and to some extent with truth, of being personally interested in keeping the Chinese in Tacoma, in order that labor might be cheap.
During the months following mass-meetings were occasion- ally and committee meetings frequently held. The committee of fifteen which has since become so famous was appointed at one of these mass-meetings, and consisted of James Wickersham, Jacob Ralph, E. G. Bacon, John Forbes, M. Kangman, H. S. Bixler, M. F. Brown, H. C. Patrick, H. A. Stevens, John Bud- long, Dolph Hanna, John McGoldrick, A. U. Mills, William Christie, and Charles Johnson. This committee had entire charge of the agitation, and held their meetings every week, calling when necessary a meeting of the citizens. Mr. Bacon was chosen Chairman and H. C. Patrick, Secretary. As their proceedings were understood to be outside of the pale of the law, no record of them was ever kept.
In the mean time the anti-Chinese movement was general in the Northwest. Seattle had gone through a very similar experi- ence (as elsewhere narrated) as Tacoma, and the smaller towns
401
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
had also taken action. Many manufacturers in Washington, Idaho, and Montana had been notified not to employ Chinese labor under pain of a vigorous boycott, and to a considerable extent this boycott had been put into effect. The Seattle people finally carried a resolution calling for an anti-Chinese congress on September 28th, 1885, and asking that every city, town, and village in Washington be represented. A mass-meeting in Tacoma, at which A. Macready presided, chose Mayor Weis- bach, A. Macready, and A. U. Mills as delegates from Tacoma. The trade and labor organizations of the city, among whom were the Knights of Labor and Typographical Union, also sent dele- gates. Mayor Weisbach was chosen Chairman of the meeting in Seattle, and a lively day's session was held. This meeting adopted resolutions calling for the expulsion of the Chinese from every city in Washington by October 1st.
The delegates returned to Tacoma, and a meeting was held which ratified their action. From that time till the Chinese went Tacoma was the liveliest town in America. Torchlight . processions were conducted to keep the enthusiasm up ; mass- meetings at which fiery speeches were made were frequent. The committee of fifteen visited the Chinese and told them the result of the meeting. The Orientals were badly scared and com- menced to leave the city. They were also pouring into Tacoma and Seattle from the smaller towns which had partly expelled them. Nevertheless, the number in Tacoma was constantly diminishing, and Portland and San Francisco got the benefit of it. At the end of the month over half of them were gone. From over one thousand they dwindled to about four hundred during the month ; but this number declared their intention of remaining, if not in words, at least in showing not the slightest sign of preparation to depart. The anti-Chinese citizens were faced by the constantly recurring objections of some of their fel- lows, but their ranks were continually gaining both in recruits and in resolution.
When at the end of the month many of the Chinese were still in Tacoma, the leaders met in council to find some means of re- moving them. At a meeting of the committee of fifteen, held on November 2d, one of its members expressed his conviction that they could not get rid of the Chinamen, and it would not be safe to try. He was promptly relieved from duty and an-
402
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
other man, whose name appears above, was substituted. The committee adjourned, and all that night was spent in waking people from their slumbers and communicating a mysterious message to them. The next day no one went to work, but every one by common consent came down to the business part of the town as though it were a holiday. People wandered about aim- lessly, not even gathering in knots in any considerable number. Some prominent citizens who were against the movement in- quired what was wrong, but received no satisfactory answer. The committee of fifteen was making its last visit to the Chinese quarters, to ask them to go in a peaceable way. It had already been done time and again, and it was decided to give them one more chance. They were at the site of what is now the Kirby House, No. 1552 C Street, and about to enter it, when suddenly the fire whistle began to blow. As though it were a signal the people gathered and ran toward the point above mentioned. About fifteen hundred men, among them -- most of them-repre- sentative citizens of Tacoma, gathered about the shacks then occupying the site of the hotel. Part of the committee were surprised at the appearance of the crowd, but quickly gathered the significance of it. Several men entered the building, point- ed to the determined crowd outside, and in a quiet way advised the Chinamen to go. They could see for themselves the force of this word of warning, and expressed their willingness to leave the city which had proved so inhospitable to them. "Me sabe, me sabe," was heard on every side as the Chinamen, frightened nearly to death, began to gather up their effects. Carts and wagons were provided for them. In the mean time the self- appointed committee proceeded to their task of cleansing the City of Destiny. Going up C Street, the occupants of each Chinese house were informed of the desire of the delegation out- side that the room occupied by their bodies should be left for the free circulation of air, and every Chinaman agreed that the change of air suggested under the circumstances seemed desir- able-in fact, that they rather preferred being out of than in Tacoma. They began in hot haste to pack up their wash-tubs, shovels, and picks, with all the paraphernalia of the various busi- nesses with which they had so long been crowding out decent white labor.
After C Street had been cleaned out of these disease-breeding
403
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
vermin the crowd separated, the larger part going to the wharf, where the main body of these Orientals existed during their hours of idleness. Another portion went to Old Town, and others scattered about the streets to dispose of those members of the tabooed race who occupied quarters here and there apart from the herd of their fellows. It did not take long for the men to gather the inhabitants of these various abodes. At about three o'clock they were all assembled in front of the Halstead House, on Pacific Avenue, between Seventh and Ninth streets. They numbered in all, including women and children, the adult males being largely in the majority, between three and four hundred Chinamen. There were probably some two thousand whites watching these proceedings, which were carried on in the midst of a drenching rain. No violence whatever had been used. One fellow, hiding under the sidewalk on C Street, in front of the Methodist Church, had been poked out with a long stick. Another Chinaman, slow in moving from his quar- ters in Old Town, was hurried up roughly, but the man who thus treated him was quickly rebuked.
They were driven, herded, or led, according as necessity de- manded, from the place where they had gathered to Lake View. Their goods were carried out in wagons and carts. More wagons were loaded with vegetables, fruits, coffee, tea, bread, and butter, and taken to the poor wretches. They were better fed that evening, perhaps, than they had ever been in their lives. The same night a freight train was loaded with them, and before morning a majority of the Chinamen of Tacoma had slightly thickened the swarming masses of humanity inhabiting Second Street in Portland. The next morning the remainder were in like manner deported. The few left in Tacoma, because unable to get their property ready for removal, left during the day, and at last, after nearly a year's agitation, the city was free from the pest of the Pacific coast.
Many of the Chinamen were furious at their treatment, and made violent threats against the city, the principal one being that they would sue the city for damages, in case their buildings were burned or injured. It was, therefore, intended to secure the condemnation of their shacks in a legal way, and to that end the places were visited by the committee of fifteen, in company with Health Officer McCoy. Guards had been posted to prevent
404
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON.
the firing until it could be done according to law ; but in spite of these precautions, a few hours after it had been visited by the committee and the health officer these hovels took fire. The flames started in the heart of these shacks, among the greasy floors and walls and amid the accumulated rubbish, and burned so fiercely that it was impossible to extinguish them-at least, the Fire Department so reported. The difficulty was increased from the fact that water, which for ages had been accustomed to run down-hill, in this particular instance refused to do so. Even the buildings on the water front could not be reached by the water ; so in the absence of any hydropathic treatment the fire had it all its own way. We have never known the department to prove itself so inefficient. There was, however, no special regret ; many, indeed, seemed to fancy that the breezes of Puget Sound came in with less of unpleasant adulteration, and filled their lungs as if they enjoyed it. Be this as it may, the oft-repeated threat " that the Chinese must go" was an accomplished fact as regards Tacoma. It is singular how easily some people yield to " persuasion."
By way of finale to this good work, Seattle, as elsewhere recorded, being encouraged by the success of her sister Tacoma, made an attempt to rid herself of the same Oriental incubus ; she was put under martial law and failed dismally in her effort. Twenty-seven of Tacoma's best citizens, good men and true, were " wanted by the law," the federal authorities expressing a strong desire to interview them. As the " mob" of Tacoma had been reported violent, and it was supposed that the parties thus doubly " warranted" would resist arrest, no less than two com- panies of United States troops were ordered to Tacoma to assist, if necessary, the officers of the law. They arrived, but found "all quiet on Puget Sound." The officers sent word to the twenty-seven men, and the twenty-seven cheerfully responded in propriâ personâ, giving themselves up as peacefully as ever did willing martyrs of old. They were arrested on November 12th, and spent the night in the county court-house in the cus- tody of United States Marshal George, of Seattle (a brother of Congressman George, of Oregon). This detention was not par- ticularly painful, as the culprits of Tacoma not yet locked up took occasion to supply these happy prisoners with every deli- cacy, both eatable and drinkable, including a choice brand of
R. L. Austin
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON. 407
champagne. An attempt was made to place a cordon of sol- diers about the building, but an intimation from some of the prominent citizens of Tacoma that such an indignity would lead to trouble caused it to be given up. They were taken to Van- couver the next day, and again spent the night in the court- house, receiving the same courteous attention-in fact, their re- ception was an ovation. It had been intended to immure them in the jail. When the train arrived, and the arrested party were found to include the Mayor, several of the councilman, and other prominent citizens of Tacoma, the official changed his mind. They met the United States Marshal at Portland on the follow- ing day, being allowed to go on their own recognizance until then, and gave bonds. In Portland they were feted, feasted, serenaded by several bands, and given tickets to all the thea- tres-in short, presented in an informal sort of way with the freedom of that city, thus showing the estimation in which they were held for having freed their own from the thraldom of Chi- nese filth and " Chinese cheap labor."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.