Seattle's Scandinavian Community Denounces Anti-Immigrant Bigotry
Local community leaders formally protest a Portland politician's racist remarks about withholding public works from immigrants.
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.
The Scandinavian-Americans of this city are very indignant over the remarks made by Councilman Davis of the Portland city council, referring to the postponement of public works until spring, when he said: 'They would employ Scandinavians, negroes and Chinese. It would be better to leave the matter as it was until spring and let white men have the benefit of the work.' At a meeting held yesterday at the Scandinavian-American bank, the following telegram was forwarded to Portland officials: 'We have in the public press read the uncalled-for and insulting remark of Councilman Davis and your manly protest against the same. The Scandinavians of Seattle desire to assure you that we heartily endorse the sentiments expressed in your protest. We cannot believe that Mr. Davis' utterances are anything but the language and sentiments of an ignorant demagogue, speaking for and to the hoodlum element.'
“We cannot believe that Mr. Davis' utterances are anything but the language and sentiments of an ignorant demagogue.”
This 1893 protest highlights the enduring intersection of economic downturns and xenophobic scapegoating in Pacific Northwest labor history. Much like the rhetoric used against migrant laborers today, the 'protectionist' language of the 1890s was weaponized to exclude newcomers from public investment and civic support.
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