City Official Ambushses Editor
Deputy City Comptroller Andrew Blakistone strikes Erasus Brainerd from behind with a cane following criticisms of a municipal court investigation.
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.
Andrew Blakistone, deputy city comptroller, assaulted Mr. Erastus Brainerd, editor of the Press-Times, yesterday afternoon at the corner of Second and Cherry streets. As Mr. Brainerd was passing the corner, Blakistone called his name, and as Mr. Brainerd turned his head to reply, he was struck a savage blow from behind with a heavy cane. The force of the blow broke the cane and another cane was handed to Blakistone by a friend who accompanied him. Mr. Brainerd was struck several more blows before he succeeded in wresting the cane from his assailant, although none of them did much damage. The cause of the assault was said to be an article that appeared in the Press-Times relative to the clerk of the municipal court and the investigation of his accounts, which was being made by the deputy comptroller. The injuries sustained by Mr. Brainerd are not at all serious. Blakistone has not yet been arrested.
Public officials lashing out at local press coverage of government corruption is a timeless Seattle tradition. While the violence is more overt here, the underlying friction between those scrutinizing the 'books' and those holding the power remains a core feature of the civic landscape.
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