A Revolver in the Mouth: Immigration Conflict on the Steamship Mogul
Tensions boil over in Tacoma as federal inspectors clash with ship officers while attempting to enforce strict Chinese exclusion policies.
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.
Customs officers and the officers of the Northern Pacific steamer Mogul fought this afternoon, and a revolver was drawn and jammed into the first officer's mouth, but Inspector Coblentz, who held the gun, did not pull the trigger. Coblentz, while in a passion, notified the captain of the Mogul and his officers that he would pull his gun and use it on any one of them who interfered with him in the discharge of his duties as a government officer. The Mogul's load of Chinese passengers was the cause of the whole trouble. Coblentz believed that a clique interested in landing Chinese laborers in the United States was trying to instruct them on how to answer questions. An order had been issued to allow none of the interested parties aboard during the examination. During the afternoon, Coblentz removed V. E. Moore of Portland from the ship, claiming he was coaching the passengers. In the ensuing struggle, Coblentz knocked down a man in his way and jammed his revolver into the first officer's mouth. Collector Wasson is currently attempting to admit about one out of every three of the 272 Chinese people aboard, but the process has been fraught with accusations of bias and incompetence from Northern Pacific officials.
“Inspector Coblentz, who held the gun, did not pull the trigger, so no one was shot. But Coblentz, while in a passion... notified the captain... that he would pull his gun and use it on any one of them who interfered with him.”
This incident captures the volatile and violent climate of the anti-Chinese exclusion era in the Puget Sound region. The brutal enforcement tactics by federal agents at the docks mirror the long, fraught history of immigration enforcement that continues to shape the Pacific Northwest's civic identity.
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