Republican Rally at the Opera House
Judge Wood defends the Sheriff’s record in the anti-Chinese expulsions of 1886.
A large crowd gathered at the Opera House to hear the Republican candidates for county office. Judge W. D. Wood, the Republican candidate for Probate Judge, addressed the gathering, championing the party's platform which included the admission of Washington Territory into the Union and the forfeiture of unearned land grants to railroads. Judge Wood defended Sheriff McGraw’s controversial actions during the 1886 anti-Chinese expulsions. He explained that McGraw had sought legal advice after attempting to deport Chinese laborers, and that the Sheriff had spent nearly $1,000 of his own money trying to bring those involved to justice after they were taken by British authorities in Victoria.
“I heard Louis Kiddleboat say that it cost McGraw $100 to get rid of the Chinese, and did not cost him a cent.”
The anti-Chinese expulsion movement was a foundational and traumatic event in Seattle history. In 1886, public figures navigated the 'law and order' argument to justify the violent removal of the city's Chinese population, a dark thread that remains central to understanding Seattle's civic development.
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