Raided on Whidbey Island
Federal inspectors attempt to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act on Whidbey Island, but most of the residents successfully evade capture by fleeing into the woods.
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.
The four Chinese, Tom Sing Toy, We Hop, Jung Ing, and Joo Ho, arrested last week by Chinese inspectors Schuyler and Plum on charges of being illegally in this country, were released from custody yesterday afternoon after a hearing before United States Commissioner Emery. We Hop and Joo Ho proved by several witnesses that they have lived in the United States for six years and over. Toy and Ing, having been arrested three years ago upon the same charge and acquitted after a hearing before Judge Hanford, thus proved their innocence of any violation of the exclusion laws. The Chinamen were arrested on Whidbey island, and inspectors Schuyler and Plum were morally certain that they were illegally in the country. Although it is known that at least 20 Chinamen live on Whidbey island, the officers succeeded in finding only four. The rest of the Mongolians, learning of the approach of the officers, took to the woods and so cleverly concealed the locations of their hiding places that they could not be found.
“The rest of the Mongolians, learning of the approach of the officers, took to the woods and so cleverly concealed the locations of their hiding places that they could not be found.”
This account captures the brutal implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act, a federal policy that devastated families and communities in the Pacific Northwest. It serves as a reminder of the state-sponsored systemic racism that was a central pillar of civic life in Washington during the late 19th century.
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