The Workingmen’s Party speakers called for an end to government subsidies of the railroads and for an eight-hour day for all workers. But at the end of the rally, the crowd was joined by members of an “anti-coolie” club. The anti-Chinese agitators found ready listeners when they blamed the Chinese for high levels of unemployment among white workers. Despite efforts of the Workingmen’s Party to stop them, a portion of the crowd marched to Chinatown and burnt down two dozen Chinese laundries, a few other Chinese-owned businesses, and a church.