The Police Force Throws a Grand Ball
Seattle officers trade their nightsticks for dance partners at the Armory to raise money for a sickness and death relief fund.
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 first annual ball of the Seattle police force, which occurred Friday evening at the Armory, was one of the most successful affairs, socially and financially, that ever occurred in this city. It is estimated that fully 500 people were present and over $500 worth of tickets were sold, the profits consequently being very satisfactory. The money will be used as a relief fund for the benefit of officers when they are sick and for the aid of their families in event they meet with death. The officers, headed by Chief Andrew Jackson, were in full dress uniform, and before the ball was formally opened the patrols were put through a drill in which they acquitted themselves admirably.
“The grand march was the feature of the evening. The order of dances was arranged in a pleasing manner... No. 8 'Take Him In'”
This 1891 charity ball marks an early attempt by Seattle's police force to formalize an informal safety net for their own. Today, the relationship between police, city hall, and civic engagement is significantly more fraught, and fund-raising for officer welfare is handled through entirely different municipal and union structures.
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