Smugglers to Face Federal Grand Jury
Two men accused of transporting Chinese passengers via sloop await trial in Tacoma following their arrest by the revenue cutter Arcata.
On Tuesday, February 16, Parson Wilkes and his side partner, Aris, will be up before the federal grand jury in this city on the charge of smuggling. They were caught with 5 Chinese individuals on board their sloop by the revenue tug Arcata one night in December last, and have been in jail at Port Townsend since that time. Chief Inspector Fisher of the Chinese bureau makes the charge.
“They were caught with 5 Chinese on board their sloop by the revenue tug Arcata.”
This incident highlights the harsh enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act at the turn of the century. While these local smuggling cases often involved desperate attempts to circumvent federal restrictions, they are markers of a systemic exclusionary policy that defined much of Tacoma's civic history during this era.
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