Fatal Hole in the Floor
A wrongful death suit against the Front Street Cable Railway Company uncovers a fatal industrial hazard left uncovered by management.
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.
Mary E. Brennan's suit to recover $25,000 from the Front Street Cable Railway Company for the death of her husband, J. W. Brennan, on July 5, 1890, was begun yesterday. Brennan, who was an employe of the company, jumped from a dummy into an uncovered hole over a rapidly revolving sheave wheel and was torn to pieces. Mrs. Brennan testified that she was the wife of the man who was killed. A. McDonald, a foreman, then told how Brennan was assisting in getting the cars out of the power house and stepped into this hole, which was uncovered at the time. He testified that the hole had been left uncovered by order of W. J. Dawson, who at that time was assistant superintendent of the company.
“Brennan, who was an employe of the company, jumped from a dummy into an uncovered hole over a rapidly revolving sheave wheel and was torn to pieces.”
Workplace safety remains a persistent civic issue in Seattle, moving from the dangerous industrial conditions of the 1890s power houses to modern labor concerns in the city's tech and construction sectors.
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