The 'Haytian Republic' and the Chinese Exclusion Pipeline
Federal authorities in Tacoma scramble as a steamer arrives from Vancouver carrying 161 Chinese passengers in defiance of exclusionary laws.
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.
Inspector Coblentz telegraphed the treasury department today from Tacoma that the steamer Haytian Republic left Vancouver on June 11 for the United States, having on board 161 Chinese. Of this number, thirty have been previously rejected at Portland by the United States authorities, but in this instance they have new certificates. There are not a dozen merchants in the lot of 161. Inspector Coblentz arrived here from Victoria this afternoon. Before he left that city he counted 161 Chinamen going aboard the Haytian Republic, and saw the cargo start off for Portland, where it is expected an attempt will be made to land the Mongolians. A prominent government official who passed through the city today suggested jocosely that some sort of bond ought to be made out which would compel the Republic to stop doing questionable work.
“A prominent government official who passed through the city today suggested jocosely that some sort of bond ought to be made out which would compel the Republic to stop doing questionable work.”
This article highlights the brutal enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act in the Pacific Northwest, where the movement of people was treated as a smuggling operation by federal authorities. The 'Haytian Republic' became a focal point in a long-standing civic and legal battle over who was allowed to exist within the borders of Washington state, a struggle that defined the era's racist exclusionary policies.
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