The Day the Chinamen Came Back
After a violent expulsion and rumors of hanging in Tekoa, Chinese laborers return under federal guard to resume work, turning a local tragedy into a grim advertisement for the town.
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 rumor of the hanging of Chinamen at Tekoa is false. Last week the Chinamen were run out of Tekoa, but have returned in charge of a U.S. marshal as a guard, and are once more at work. The reported hanging has advertised Tekoa to some extent, however, and no doubt will be of some good by attracting attention to the town, its location and enterprise.
This brief report captures the violent anti-Chinese sentiment that plagued Washington State in the late 19th century, culminating in the Chinese Exclusion Act. While modern headlines might focus on immigration policy or labor disputes, this snippet reveals how racial violence was often treated with a chilling pragmatism by local media—acknowledging the expulsion and subsequent federal intervention while cynically noting that the 'rumor' of hanging served as free publicity for the town.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.