Tacoma Prepares for Anti-Chinese Agitation
Hostility toward Chinese merchants and laborers persists in Tacoma as organizers call for a mass meeting at the foot of Tenth Street.
On Monday evening there will be an anti-Chinese meeting at the foot of Tenth street in Tacoma. The dodgers calling for the meeting say: 'Chinese, no, no, no!' There seems to be an effort to confound the Chinese merchants with the coolies. The great majority favor the merchants if the coolies can be kept out, but it is a question if the majority do not believe that the coolies can be kept out if the merchants come. Two of the Chinamen whom it is proposed to locate here are Seid Back and Charlie, of Portland. The former is reported to be worth $4,000,000, and is the second largest property owner in Portland. Both, it is proposed, are to be located in the Crescent Creamery building, on the wharf.
“There seems to be an effort to confound the Chinese merchants with the coolies.”
This article captures the lingering, virulent atmosphere in Tacoma years after the 1885 expulsion. It highlights the recurring attempts to segregate and exclude Asian residents from the civic life and physical footprint of Washington cities.
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