During 1900 in Stevestonby Chuck Davis
On July 1, a fishermen’s strike began on the Lower Fraser. Overfishing by Americans was partly to blame for depleted salmon stocks, as fish traps were still legal in Washington State (and would be until 1934). During the strike there was hostility between the white fishermen’s Union and the Japanese fishermen who lived in cannery houses and depended on the canneries for food. Four hundred armed soldiers arrived to protect the Japanese. (At the turn of the century, fish canneries were largely responsible for the ethnic diversity in the Delta area. Chinese men, often brought to Canada as indentured laborers by a "China boss," butchered and canned the fish; native and Japanese women cleaned the fish and filled the cans; and native, Japanese and European men fished. More than 200 cannery and fishery workers were needed to process 1,200 cases a day (57,600 pounds, about 26,000 kilos). On October 26 the Collector of Votes in Vancouver, Thomas Cunningham, refused to put Japanese, including naturalized citizens, on the voters list. Ironically, six days later a ball was held at the Hotel Vancouver by Mrs. Shimizu in honor of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress of Japan. For more interesting history on the Metro Vancouver area, pick up a copy of The History of Metropolitan Vancouver by Chuck Davis.
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