Tacoma’s Japanese Community Rallies for Red Cross
Local Japanese residents organize a fundraiser to support the Red Cross society of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War.
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.
The Japanese of Tacoma will subscribe $3,000 or more to the cause of their country. About $2,000 of the $3,000 has already been raised. There are about 400 Japanese residents in this city, and this shows that they have already subscribed an average of $15 each. At first, it was intended to turn this contribution over to the war department of Japan, but at the suggestion of T. Kawai, proprietor of the Lincoln restaurant, who proposed raising the fund in the first place, it has been decided to present the money to the Red Cross society of Japan. Fired with the patriotism that comes from love of country, every subject of the Mikado is eager to contribute to assist his countrymen in their present struggle.
“Fired with the patriotism that comes from love of country, every subject of the mikado is eager to contribute.”
This story highlights the active civic and philanthropic life of Tacoma’s early Asian immigrant communities. It predates the widespread institutionalized exclusion that would follow in subsequent decades, showing a community deeply integrated into the city's social fabric.
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