Anglers Point Finger at Japanese Workers in Trout Dispute
Local fishermen accuse Japanese laborers of netting trout for market, calling for the game warden—a familiar pattern of racial scapegoating in the West.
Fishermen report that the brook trout are biting fiercely in the Little Spokane River. Several fine strings have been captured by local anglers during the past few days. There are also complaints that the Japanese working along the line of the Great Northern are catching large quantities of the trout, and it is supposed that they are fishing for market. The attention of the Washington game warden from this district will be called to the wanton destruction of the smaller trout by the Japanese. Several parties have also been catching large numbers of trout in C.C.A. Creek, down the Pend Oreille. It is reported that one party of two persons caught enough to fill a large dishpan one day this week and salted the fish down for future use.
“There are also complaints that the Japanese working along the line of the Great Northern are catching large quantities of the trout and it is supposed that they are fishing for market.”
This brief item captures the racial tensions that simmered in the Northwest, where Japanese immigrant laborers were often blamed for resource depletion even as they worked the railroads and mills. The accusation of 'fishing for market' was a common pretext for exclusion and violence. Today, debates over fishing rights and environmental stewardship still carry echoes of who belongs and who is welcome.
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