False Leprosy Rumors in Chinatown
A local rival paper attempted to stir up panic in North Yakima's Chinese quarter, but the local Marshal found the reports to be entirely fabricated.
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.
With its usual accuracy, the Republic printed as its only piece of news last week a scare rumor to the effect that there is a case of leprosy in the Chinese quarter. Marshal Cock says there is no truth whatever in the report; that he made a thorough search through Chinatown, and that two of the leading Chinamen told him that there was not, nor had there been, any leprosy there, and that they were as afraid of the disease as were the whites, and would be the first to make complaint and endeavor to get rid of the leper.
“They were as afraid of the disease as were the whites, and would be the first to make complaint and endeavor to get rid of the leper.”
This incident highlights the pervasive anti-Asian sentiment prevalent in 1890s Washington, where newspapers frequently used health scares as weapons to incite fear or target minority communities. It serves as a reminder of the historical role journalism played in fueling exclusion, a legacy that continues to inform modern conversations about media ethics and marginalized communities.
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