The Deportation of a Local Philosopher
After three months in jail, a 'man of mystery' is fined $31 and ordered to leave the United States forever.
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.
Judge Easterday of the superior court delivered a final judgment this morning regarding Josua Klein. In view of the fact that Klein had already been confined in the county jail for more than three months, and that through his offices, Dora Sauvageott had been returned to her mother, the court ordered his deportation to the country of his fathers. Klein, a man known locally as a 'ridiculed philosopher-prisoner,' was given credit for time served against a $175 fine, resulting in a nominal fine of $31. Klein was calm and composed as he faced the judge. His belongings, which filled exactly seven trunks and valises, were loaded onto a van outside the courthouse. He was taken to Seattle this afternoon to join other 'undesirables' before departing on a French liner from New York next week.
“It is the judgment of the court that you pay a fine of $175, but in as much as you have been in jail for forty-eight days since you were convicted, you will be given credit upon this fine of $144, and I now impose upon you the nominal fine of $31.”
This story highlights the era's severe approach to 'undesirable' populations and the swift, bureaucratic machinery of early 20th-century deportation. While the language used by the paper is dehumanizing, it captures a moment where civic authority acted with total finality against a marginalized individual.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.