In February 1885, Tacoma Mayor Jacob Weisbach (a German immigrant) met with a small group of men to discuss the Chinese question. William Christie, who had witnessed the Chinese expulsion that had recently occurred in Eureka, California, was among the attendees. During this meeting, they discussed the actions taken by other localities to expel their Chinese citizens and considered how they might do the same in Tacoma. This was one of the earliest recorded instances of Tacoma citizens meeting to discuss taking direct action to expel Chinese residents.