The Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against 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.
On Wednesday last, D. Crooee, who is somewhat extensively known in Seattle, made a speech at Hillsboro, Oregon. In the course of this speech, he made the following statements: 'We have successfully driven Chinamen out of Seattle and Tacoma, and at the time of our trial in Seattle, two hundred men sat in the court room with Colt's revolvers in their pockets, to see that we went free, no matter what the verdict of the jury had been. If we undertake to move Chinamen out of Portland, we will do it. The soldiers now at Seattle are helping us to drive the Chinamen out of the country.' It is only necessary to repeat such statements to let the workingmen of Seattle know what a consummate liar Crooee really is. Of course, he did not expect his words to be repeated in Seattle, where the absurdities which they express are detected at once. This speech was meant for Oregon ears. The man who will lie to the workingmen of Hillsboro will lie to the workingmen of Seattle. It is not difficult to see the ultimate result of following the leadership of such a man. Seattle is now feeling the effects of such leadership. The essential element of any movement whose real object is the improvement of the condition of the workingman is truth. No man should knowingly espouse a cause founded upon error. No man should follow a leader whose leadership depends upon falsehood. Apply the test of truth to the utterances of your leader. Never can a better test be found.
“The man who will lie to the workingmen of Hillsboro will lie to the workingmen of Seattle.”
In 1886, Seattle was the site of violent, xenophobic riots aimed at forcibly expelling the Chinese community. This editorial serves as a reminder that political movements built on 'idle rumor' and inflammatory rhetoric often leave behind a 'fearful price' of instability and disorder—a cautionary tale that remains strikingly relevant in today’s era of misinformation and polarized civic life.
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