The Anti-Chinese Riot Echoes in Local Politics
Working-class candidates rally against the city's elites and the presence of Chinese laborers, reigniting the fury of the February expulsions.
At a rally at the Open House, speakers Cochrane, Wegener, and Keane railed against the city's establishment. Keane, a candidate for the legislature, declared, 'A year or so ago we found Chinamen in workshops, kitchens, and over washtubs, where white men ought to be. This made hard times. We called the matter up and we ridded Pierce County, Snohomish, and some other counties of the Chinese, and now we have good times.' Cochrane attacked local officials, labeling the Mayor 'the dude governor' and accusing the press and prominent businessmen of protecting Chinese interests to secure their own financial gain. The speakers focused on the labor movement's role in the February expulsions, framing their political campaign as a continuation of that struggle.
“A year or so ago we found Chinamen in workshops, kitchens, and over washtubs, where white men ought to be. This made hard times.”
This reflects the volatile labor and nativist politics that dominated Seattle in the mid-1880s, where economic anxiety was routinely weaponized against immigrant communities. The rhetoric mirrors the intense civic fragmentation seen during periods of rapid economic shifts and displacement in the city's history.
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