July 19 – August 15, 1885
The Great Soap Bust of South Seattle
Federal raid accounts conflict on South Seattle distillery vs. soap works.
4 reports in Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer, July 19 – August 15, 1885.
The story
Reports published between July 19 and Aug. 15, 1885 in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer describe a federal revenue collector’s raid in South Seattle and seizures from a local man. The accounts conflict: one report calls the operation a clandestine distillery and mentions equipment and livestock, another describes an unpermitted soap-making business, and later reports call it a distillery disguised as soap-making. The reports do not name the man or give a specific raid date.
Told from the 4 reports below. The reports are the record.
The archive grouped these reports automatically, by date, place and subject.
The reports 4
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Revenue Collector’s Raid on a South Seattle Distiller
Federal authorities shutter a clandestine operation in South Seattle, seizing a menagerie of equipment and livestock from a local man.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Soap-Making Distillery Bust of South Seattle
A federal raid on a modest South Seattle property reveals an enterprising soap-maker operating without a permit, leading to the seizure of his entire livelihood.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Great Soap Bust of South Seattle
A federal raid on a clandestine distilling operation leaves a local man out of soap and out of luck.
- Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerThe Soapy Scandal of South Seattle
A federal revenue collector busts a clandestine distillery masquerading as a soap-making business.
From the pages
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Jul 19, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Aug 6, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Aug 11, 1885
Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer · Aug 15, 1885
Library of Congress, Chronicling America. Public domain.