The Price of Public Health in 1892
A saloon owner sues the City of Seattle after a smallpox quarantine destroys his business and stock.
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 City of Seattle was made defendant in a suit begun in the superior court yesterday for damages on account of a smallpox quarantine. The plaintiff is P. R. Metz, the proprietor of the St. Elmo lodging house and saloon. He says that on July 30, the health officers closed his house and compelled the inmates to remain inside for fourteen days, and that he was obligated to care for the rooms and inmates during that time, a service he estimates is worth $45. On July 31, the health officers took away goods and merchandise to the value of $31, presumably to be burned. Later, the officers fumigated the house in such a careless manner that they destroyed a large quantity of furniture, carpets, and bedding worth $56. In addition, they closed his saloon and billiard hall for fourteen days, depriving him of the use of his city license, worth $25. The aggregate of these items is $162, and he says the city authorities have refused to reimburse him for the loss.
“The city authorities have refused to reimburse him for the loss.”
This 1892 legal dispute over business interruption caused by pandemic measures mirrors the intense conflict between public health mandates and private property rights that surfaced again during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, as now, the financial burden of public safety measures became a central point of civic contention.
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