The Scandal of the 'Superba' Company
An actress fights back after her employer allegedly orchestrated a smear campaign to fire her without cause.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The scandal regarding Walter Von Rosen and Miss Carrie Seidensticker, two members of Hanlon's 'Superba' theatrical company, has led to a libel suit for $10,000 damages, begun yesterday by the lady against William Hanlon in the Superior Court of King County. The complaint alleges that the plaintiff, a single woman of good moral character and an actress by profession, was targeted by Hanlon, who allegedly furnished a Portland newspaper with a scandalous story about her and Von Rosen. The newspaper reported that a porter on a Pullman car witnessed 'unbecoming conduct' between the pair while the troupe was traveling from California. According to the article, Hanlon used this as a pretext to terminate their employment. Miss Seidensticker claims the article was false, malicious, and designed to ruin her professional reputation. When a reporter sought comment from the company’s manager, he stated that Hanlon was served with legal papers as he boarded a train to Tacoma. He noted, 'We will retain the best legal talent we can get in Seattle and will make a fight.' He claimed they were unaware the matter had become public until reading it in the press, and asserted that Miss Seidensticker had been paid in full and provided a ticket East.
“The excuse offered by Miss Seidensticker for her conduct was that she had gone to Von Rosen’s berth upon an invitation to clean his diamonds.”
This 1892 dispute over 'at-will' employment, sudden termination, and the use of malicious public rumors to damage a worker's reputation feels strikingly modern. Today, Seattle workers facing similar retaliatory smears often turn to social media rather than libel suits, but the core struggle—the power imbalance between management and the performer/laborer—remains a constant thread in the city's history.
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