A Mounted Inspector for Eastern Washington
The Treasury Department increases customs presence near Fort Colville to enforce Chinese exclusion laws.
The newspapers that stood so manfully for an increase in the customs force, so much needed to properly enforce the Chinese restriction law, will be pleased to know that their efforts were not fruitless. We learn that an additional customs officer has been allowed by the Treasury Department for service in Eastern Washington, and that J. H. Stitzel, formerly of Stevens county, has been appointed to that position. He will be a mounted inspector at the rate of $5 per diem, and will do duty at or near Fort Colville for the better enforcement of the Chinese restriction law and the collection of duties.
“He will be a mounted inspector... for the better enforcement of the Chinese restriction law and the collection of duties.”
This reflects the systemic state-sanctioned exclusion and racial policing prevalent in the Washington Territory during the 1880s. It stands as a stark example of how civic institutions were mobilized to enforce discriminatory policies, a foundational chapter in the history of the region.
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