Six more Chinamen and four Assyrians arrived here by the S.S. Laurentian this morning. The "Heathen Chinee" have now quite a colony established here, and if they continue to come in such large bunches we will boast of a local China town of larger population than in much more pretentious cities. The yellow peril is not greatly appreciated by our workmen, who fear that in a short time they will be branching out in other than the "washee-washee" business.⁹

Today names like "Heathen Chinee"¹⁰ and "the yellow peril" are considered racist. Newspapers would not print such comments. But 100 years ago many people from all walks of life used this kind of language.

Here is a poem called "Washee-Washee" that appeared in the Daily News on the 26th of September, 1906:

Credit: Centre for Newfoundland Studies
An ad from a local newspaper for
a Chinese restaurant on
Water Street, circa 1920.

Washee-Washee

In good old days when grandpa lived,
and grandma boiled his dickie white,
And starched it stiff with Colman's best
'till it did shine way out o' sight.
When ruffled bosoms were in vogue,
no patent wringers had we then,
But women washed with tucked-up sleeves
and did the laundry for their men.

But since that time a change has come
and with it Chinese by the score,
One Lung, Sing Lee and Wee Wah,
who wrote inviting fifty more
And soon the town was well supplied
with washee, washee signs hung out,
It seemed as if we had relied too much
on washee washee without a doubt.
Some scratched their nose
and shook their heads,
and said that they would interfere,
With labourers and artisans and other
workmen 'round here,
So to devise some easy way,
to introduce some simple plan,
Inducing washee to get out and rid us
of the Chinaman.

R.J.P., St. John's¹¹