Mukilteo Residents Battle to Oust Japanese Workers
A simmering local movement against the employment of Japanese workers at a Mukilteo mill intensifies as residents plan a mass protest in Everett.
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.
No reply has yet been received from the anti-Japanese petition the ladies of Mukilteo forwarded to the head office of the lumber company in California. Those interested in the movement to oust the Japanese have, by no means, abated their efforts, nor, they declare, will they ever quit until they have accomplished what they set out to do. The big mill, it is reported, will close down Saturday night for a period of five weeks and it was rumored around Mukilteo that when the plant resumed operation only white labor would be employed. Manager Scott, however, sent the cheerful message to Mrs. Wetstein that as long as the mill stood Japanese would be employed. Mrs. Wetstein is not worried a bit by this information and says the Japanese are going to move regardless of what Mr. Scott says in the matter. Arrangements are under way for a monster mass meeting in Everett in the near future to voice the protest of local citizens against the policy of the Mukilteo concern.
“Those interested in the movement to oust the Japanese have, by no means, abated their efforts, nor, they declare, will they ever quit until they have accomplished what they set out to do.”
This article highlights the climate of exclusion in early 20th-century Snohomish County, where labor unrest was often weaponized against immigrant communities. It reflects the broader anti-Asian exclusionary movements in Washington that culminated in severe discriminatory legislation and the eventual forced removal of Japanese families during WWII.
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