Memorial Day Parades and Politics
Seattle celebrated Memorial Day with a massive procession and a theater program, where speakers linked the memory of Union veterans to modern anxieties over labor unrest and immigration.
The whole city united in loyal tribute to the memory of the Union veterans of the civil war yesterday. Gov. McGraw delivered one of the most telling speeches he ever made. The veterans were out in force and were joined by the Sons of Veterans and by the citizen soldiers. A. W. Hastie, the orator of the day, dealt without bitterness with the controversy which was settled by the war and yet was inspired with true Union sentiment, but its chief merit, and the one most appreciated by the audience, was the application it made of thoughts called up by the ceremony of the day to the present troubles of the nation. When Mr. Hastie said that those Coxeyites who were foreigners should be sent back to the countries whence they came he was interrupted by loud and long-continued applause.
“When Mr. Hastie said that those Coxeyites who were foreigners should be sent back to the countries whence they came he was interrupted by loud and long-continued applause.”
This Memorial Day report captures a moment of deep civic tension in 1894, showing how historical commemorative events were—and often still are—used to channel contemporary fears about labor movements and immigration. It serves as a stark look at how local power structures sought to consolidate identity against 'outside' agitation.
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