Federal Troops Arrive to Quell Anti-Chinese Agitation in Seattle
United States soldiers are deployed to maintain order amidst rising tensions, as the newspaper argues the law must be upheld against the ongoing intimidation of Chinese residents.
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.
United States troops have arrived in Seattle, and all things considered, it is best that they are here. The agitation which has stirred the people of this city for the past weeks had within the last two days assumed a threatening aspect. While the danger of the situation may not have been as great as appeared, it was wise to take no chances. It is better—far better—that troops should be here than that the life of one citizen of Seattle should be sacrificed to internecine conflict. Had the police force of Seattle not been utterly worthless, had it not been under the miserable control of a man in whose ears dance can be played, this might have been different. But if the police force of the city failed in the crisis, the police force of the nation has intervened. Whether the Sheriff wishes it or dislikes it, he has requested the presence of these troops, believing that to have them here would be best for all parties. He was not wrong. Already a sense of relief has been experienced. It is understood by all that the troops are here simply to preserve the peace, to prevent a recurrence of the Tacoma affair, and not to force the Chinese to remain here in spite of their determination to go. The troops are police, not partisans.
“Had the police force of the city failed in the crisis, the police force of the nation has intervened.”
This 1885 report on the arrival of federal troops to address the violent anti-Chinese 'agitation' reflects a dark chapter in Seattle's history, when the city was deeply polarized over labor competition and xenophobia. It serves as a reminder that Seattle’s modern reputation for progressive values was built over the wreckage of earlier eras defined by civic failure, nativism, and the struggle to define who belongs in the Pacific Northwest.
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