The Fight for the Right to Trade
Chinese merchants detained upon returning to Seattle face a legal battle over what defines a 'merchant' versus a 'laborer' under federal law.
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.
Three Chinese merchants returning from China on the steamer Tacoma were processed under the McCreary Act. While one was admitted, two—Ah Lee and Ah You—faced immediate legal scrutiny from Inspector F.D. Schuyler. Ah Lee was admitted after producing a certificate witnessed by local prominent figures. Ah You, however, was denied landing because he operated a restaurant, which the inspector classified as 'skilled labor' rather than 'merchant' work. Counsel is now preparing a habeas corpus petition to argue that a restaurant owner is a legitimate tradesman, initiating a test case that challenges federal definitions used to exclude Chinese residents.
“His case raises a point of law as to the definition of the terms merchant and laborer, which will be made the basis of a test suit.”
The McCreary Act was a tightening of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, intended to make life impossible for those who remained. This story highlights how the machinery of the border was used to strip people of their livelihood and property rights by playing linguistic games with their legal status.
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