The Milkman Wars of Grant Street
A competition for customers on the Grant Street bridge turns into a physical altercation, leading to an arrest.
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.
Competition between two milkmen caused a brief assault at arms on the Grant Street bridge yesterday afternoon, resulting in the arrest of W. P. Hoppe on a warrant sworn out by A. B. Edwards. Edwards claims that they both sold milk in the same neighborhood, and because he got the opportunity to leave a can at the house of one of his rival's customers, there were hard feelings. Hoppe met him on the Grant Street bridge, and if Edwards' story is true, told him that he would teach him to meddle with his customers, and then hit him in the jaw. Mr. Edwards is not a pugilist and thought the proper recourse was through the law.
“Hoppe met him on the Grant Street bridge, and if Edwards' story is true, told him that he would teach him to meddle with his customers, and then hit him in the jaw.”
While modern Seattleites fight over delivery apps and cloud kitchens, late 19th-century merchants settled their territorial disputes with their fists on city bridges. The Grant Street bridge was a critical piece of infrastructure connecting the growing city; today, the area has been largely reclaimed by industrial development south of downtown.
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