A Tense Welcome at the Pier
Tacoma celebrates a new trans-Pacific trade route, but the arrival of Chinese passengers aboard the Phra-Nang serves as a dark reminder of the city's history of expulsion.
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 arrival of the Phra-Nang, the first steamer of the new line between Puget Sound and the Orient, was celebrated in Tacoma by an ovation. Captain Watton and his crew were welcomed by business men and a band of music. There were also four Chinese passengers aboard, but as Tacoma long ago drove out its Chinese population, they of course were not welcomed. On shore, speakers reviewed commerce from Bunker Hill down to date and cordially welcomed all hands. Many of the Japanese aboard the Phra-Nang were of the wealthier class, several being students bound for Eastern colleges. Because one of these donned white kid gloves, he was subjected to annoying guying by some successful business men, whose conduct was the subject of deprecatory remarks.
“There were also four Chinese passengers aboard, but as Tacoma long ago drove out its Chinese population, they of course were not welcomed.”
This account captures the dual nature of Seattle/Tacoma's early global commerce: the desire for international wealth contrasting with the deep, violent legacy of the anti-Chinese expulsion era that was still an active, painful memory in 1892.
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