The Sunday War in Seattle
A local Christian organization vows to shutter all saloons and theaters on the Sabbath, sparking a defiant clash over public pleasure and civic life.
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.
If the intentions of the Christian Endeavor people are successfully carried out, Seattle will lead a quiet life on Sunday in the near future. The attempt will be made to close all saloons, theaters, and other places of the kind from midnight on Saturday until Monday. The step was inaugurated at a recent meeting of the Christian Endeavor. In the various committees, the matter was vigorously taken up, and the discussion resulted in a well-formed scheme to kill off the Sunday saloon and theater business.
A meeting of the local Christian Endeavor union was held Friday evening when it was decided to take immediate steps to get the campaign under way. Mr. A. Robinson, a permanent member of the local C.E. union, was seen by a Star reporter in reference to the movement. He said in brief: 'We are convinced that we can close up the saloons and theaters in Seattle on Sunday, and we intend to do all we can to do so. Thousands of American cities have closed up these Sunday pleasure resorts of the kind we are after, and I can't see why Seattle should not do the same. We will make a big fight to carry out our plans.' Another prominent member was also talking hard on the project. One of them said: 'The first gun will be fired in a day or two and a very warm time is coming.'
“Thousands of American cities have closed up these Sunday pleasure resorts of the kind we are after, and I can't see why Seattle should not do the same.”
This 1899 campaign to legislate morality and 'quiet' the city reflects the perennial tug-of-war in Seattle between its boisterous, nightlife-heavy culture and efforts to enforce a more conventional, family-oriented civic atmosphere.
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