The 'Cubic Air' Ordinance and a Courtroom Stand-Off
A legal clash in Seattle pits local officials against a law that criminalized living conditions for the Chinese community.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Some days ago several Chinamen were arrested for violation of the Cubic Air ordinance, or in other words the ordinance which provides that every person shall occupy a room eight feet long, eight feet wide and eight feet high. The hearing came on before Justice Soderberg yesterday, and City Attorney Peterson represented the city and Judge Jacobs appeared for the Chinese. The Judge attacked the validity of the ordinance, and Justice Soderberg held that it was good. A dispute followed between Judge Jacobs and the Justice, which resulted in Judge Jacobs being held for contempt by the Justice. The case against the Chinese was postponed, and the case against Judge Jacobs for his contempt of Justice Soderberg's court will be adjudicated by the latter before the Cubic Air ordinance trial will be continued. Justice Soderberg says he will show the Judge who is running that court, and Judge Jacobs very emphatically declares that if his clients cannot have a fair trial before Soderberg, he will appeal the case and take it up where they can have the question fairly and legally adjudicated.
“Justice Soderberg says he will show the Judge who is running that court.”
The 'Cubic Air' ordinance was a classic piece of Gilded Age discriminatory legislation, using health and safety codes as a pretext to target and displace Seattle's Chinese residents. Today's debates over zoning, 'tiny house' restrictions, and housing occupancy limits often echo these same historical tensions regarding who is allowed to live in the city and under what conditions.
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