The Rising Tide of Anti-Japanese Sentiment
A labor newspaper voices the era's xenophobia, framing Japanese residents as an imminent 'trained soldier' threat.
Labor agitators and labor papers are not alone in their analysis of the Japanese situation on the Pacific coast. The senior press would have the people believe that the Japanese agitation is spread only by labor discontents, but others view the situation with alarm. At Los Angeles, thousands of resident Japanese rushed to the port to welcome their country's ships and crews, and ten thousand more met them at San Francisco. These many thousands are trained soldiers. In the event of war, within three days all these would be at points on the coast where they could receive arms and munitions. Any one can see what the conditions would be on an unfortified coast and among a people unused to the discipline of a camp. The suggestion of such a situation is enough to fully justify the protest of the men of the west coast against the Japanese immigration that has been going on since the Japanese-Russian war. And those men are Japanese and always will be, and always stand ready to obey any order that may come to them from their home government.
“These many thousands are trained soldiers. In the event of war, within three days all these would be at points on the coast where they could receive arms and munitions.”
This article is a primary source of the anti-Asian exclusionist rhetoric that gripped Washington in the early 20th century, culminating in legal and social systems designed to strip Japanese immigrants of their rights. Recognizing this hateful framing is essential for understanding the local history of Everett's community demographics and the political climate that eventually led to the internment era.
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