Indictment Reveals Political Manipulation of Citizenship
A Walla Walla politician faces perjury charges for allegedly manipulating immigrant naturalization to influence local elections.
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.
Over at Walla Walla, a politician has been indicted for perjury. The alleged crime was that he had sworn falsely as to the qualifications of certain candidates for citizenship in order to get the benefit of their votes. Any observer knows that of the immigrants that come to this country, many obtain naturalization papers while they have no more idea of the obligations they are taking upon themselves than if the entire proceeding was conducted in Chinese. A conscientious judge can prevent this abuse so far as the aliens are concerned, but when the representative of a political party projects himself into the situation, vouches for the aliens, and instructs them what to say, the court may be helpless. No matter what political faction was the mover in the scheme, there can be no palliation for it.
“The crime against society is that it is injured by the addition of the unfit.”
This 1903 story underscores the long history of using xenophobic tropes—specifically the 'unfit immigrant' narrative—to attack political opponents. The intersection of local election integrity and the treatment of immigrant populations remains a volatile and recurring theme in American political discourse.
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