The Seattle Standard Paper Takeover
A power struggle at a local newspaper leads to a nocturnal raid and the relocation of printing equipment.
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.
After being for nine months in the hands of H. K. Cayton and getting itself into bad odor by its attacks on everyone, the Seattle Standard again passed under the management of Britton Oxendine, who started it. The paper had been leased by Mr. Oxendine to Mr. Cayton. When the lease expired on April 1, he leased it again to B. F. Lester, who was working for him, instead of turning it over to the owner. Yesterday afternoon, a committee from the Afro-American League went to Mr. Oxendine and asked him to take charge of the paper. He went to Cayton and asked him to give up possession, as his lease had expired. Cayton refused and said he had to regain it by legal process. Determined not to wait, Mr. Oxendine went to the office in the Kline & Rosenberg building about 10 o'clock last evening, accompanied by four other men, took possession of the plant, and removed it to the north end of the city. The paper will be issued again next Saturday under Mr. Oxendine's management.
“Determined not to wait Cayton's leisure Mr. Oxendine went to the office... took possession of the plant and removed it to the north end of the city.”
This incident of an owner physically reclaiming his newspaper equipment highlights the often volatile nature of turn-of-the-century local media ownership. It reflects a time when a printing press and type were mobile assets, rather than digital footprints, making physical control of the hardware synonymous with the survival of the publication itself.
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