Having received these assurances the governor wrote the consul that in his opinion the sheriffs in the principal centers would be so strongly supported by the law-abiding citizens, that they would be able to repress all disorders. “Of course it is possible,” he said, “that an outrage might be committed before the authorities could prevent it, and in the excited state of public feeling, I have privately advised Chinese residents who have waited upon me, that I thought the best policy for them to pursue is to quietly withdraw, if they can do so, until the present period of excitement has passed away.”
The governor had also communicated with the authorities at Washington, and for some days following he kept them thoroughly advised. The consul at San Francisco had also written to the Chinese minster in Washington, and he in turn had applied to the national administration to guarantee the protection of his countrymen. Warned by what had happened at Rock Springs, President Cleveland and his cabinet were anxious to prevent, if possible, a similar outbreak on the Sound, and yet were unwilling to assert the national authority, so long as the territorial and county officials felt confident that they would be able to control the situation. They however, stood ready to send troops from Fort Vancouver|Fort Vancouver to any one of the Sound cities, as soon as advised that it would be necessary, or even urgently desirable.
In reply to inquiries from the secretary of the interior, which were prompted no doubt by the solicitation of the Chinese minster, the governor again communicated with the sheriffs and the municipal authorities, particularly in Pierce and King Counties, notifying them of the anxiety felt in Washington and San Francisco about the situation in their
