The Mukilteo Exclusion Movement
Everett and Mukilteo citizens organize a public protest against the employment of Japanese laborers in the local mills.
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.
A public mass meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday at Fraternal Hall under the auspices of the All-American League of Mukilteo. The residents of Mukilteo, supported by Everett citizens, are determined to demand that white labor be employed at the local mill company. The organizers seek to challenge the company's use of Japanese labor, framing the meeting as a non-partisan protest for all citizens regardless of occupation. Speakers will address what they describe as the impact of 'Asiatic labor' on the community, urging residents to pressure the corporation to change its hiring practices and rid the town of what the article calls the 'Japanese scourge.'
“This is not a union labor meeting, it is not a business men's meeting, it is not a meeting of Mukilteo citizens. IT IS A PROTEST MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF EVERY WALK IN LIFE.”
This article documents the exclusionary environment of the early 20th century in Washington, specifically the anti-Japanese sentiment that fueled local politics and labor organizing. It is a stark reminder of the state’s history of state-sanctioned and social discrimination, which eventually led to broader disenfranchisement and the internment era.
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