City Council Uncovers the Seamy Side of Seattle
After a wave of burglaries, council members go on a late-night tour to witness the reality of city vice for themselves.
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.
Last night, complaints of the inefficiency of the police force and the incompetency of Chief Jackson were openly expressed by members of the city council. The carnival of crime has awakened a storm of protest. The mayor and police commissioners recommended a temporary increase of fifteen patrolmen and the appointment of a chief detective at $125 a month. However, the council is divided on whether more men or better leadership is the solution. President Sweeney declared the force is not up to standard and that 'personal pull and friendship' have dictated the selection of officers. After the meeting, several delegates went to see the city's resorts for themselves. They found 150 men at the 'Never-Touched-Me' saloon waiting for a free meal. They then visited the Blackchapel district, where they saw gambling, dance halls, and, over the Mug saloon, forty Japanese women herded together and soliciting. The councilmen realized that official claims that gambling and vice had been wiped out were false.
“The revenue which the city derives by the payment of their license is inadequate to meet the expenses entailed upon the city as a result of crimes directly and indirectly traceable to such places.”
The 1893 debate over police reform, lack of resources, and the presence of 'hobos' mirrors modern anxieties about municipal resource allocation and the visibility of poverty. Even then, the gap between what politicians claimed about public safety and what council members saw on the ground was a catalyst for friction.
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