Labor Unions Demand Action on Border Enforcement in 1886
An exchange of letters between the Seattle Knights of Labor and the Collector of Customs highlights early local anxieties over immigration policy.
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.
Seattle, W.T., July 1886. Hon. H.K. Beecher, Collector of Customs, Port Townsend—Dear Sir: I am instructed by the Seattle Assembly, Knights of Labor, to inquire of you if you have received any official instructions that in their nature would require or allow you to disregard the Chinese Restriction Act. There is a widespread undercurrent of dissatisfaction among workingmen at the almost entire failure of the Restriction Act, and the ease with which they (the Chinese) are crossing over the line in large numbers and often, and trouble may be expected at any time in consequence. Please answer at your earliest convenience. Yours very respectfully, Walter Walker, Recording Secretary, Queen City Assembly, K. of L. Collector's Office, Port Townsend, W.T., July 9th, 1886. Hon. Walter Walker, Recording Secretary, Seattle Assembly, Knights of Labor—My Dear Sir: Your communication of July 6th has just been received, in which you inquire if I have received any official instructions that in their nature would require or allow me to disregard the Chinese Restriction Act. In reply to your inquiry, I will say that I have not received any official instructions bearing upon this act. My duty is to enforce the laws pertaining to my office as I find them. My sympathies are with the laboring men of America, and I can assure you that the Restriction Act will be enforced to the full extent of the force at my command. I have the honor to remain, very truly yours, Herbert Post Beecher, Collector of Customs.
“There is a widespread undercurrent of dissatisfaction among workingmen at the almost entire failure of the Restriction Act.”
This 1886 correspondence illustrates the deep-seated tension surrounding labor and immigration policy in Washington State's history. While the specific legislative context has shifted, the rhetoric regarding 'border control' and the protection of local labor markets remains a recurring theme in Washington’s political discourse over 130 years later.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.