A Scandal of Abduction at the U.S. Commissioner’s Office
United States Commissioner J.W. Spriggs is ordered to resign or face investigation for his role in the illegal removal of a Chinese woman from Portland.
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United States Commissioner J.W. Spriggs has been given the alternative of resigning or submitting to an investigation by Judge Gilbert regarding his role in the abduction of Tue Gam, a Chinese woman, from Portland to Seattle. Deputy U.S. Marshal D.W. West, under a warrant from Spriggs, brought the woman to Seattle without the co-operation of Portland authorities. West testified that Spriggs directed him to conceal the date and location of the arrest. West was subsequently convicted of assault and battery in Portland. Judge Hanford, learning of the reports and the Portland Bar Association's findings, moved to force a reckoning with Spriggs over the corruption in his office.
“The case was shaded in mystery, and all sorts of accusations were made by the people of Portland when it was known that the woman had been brought back here without the co-operation of the United States marshal.”
This case highlights the historical intersection of federal judicial power and the intense racism of the 1890s, particularly regarding the Chinese Exclusion era. The use of kidnapping and false warrants against vulnerable populations reflects a dark chapter in local judicial history.
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