An Editor Assaulted in Friday Harbor
A local editor was struck down by a county auditor with a heavy lead weight after a tense meeting in the commissioners' court.
The editor of the Islander was before the commissioners' court making a statement to the board on Wednesday, and Auditor Murray, taking exceptions to the remarks, took up a large lead weight and knocked the editor down. In the justice court, he pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and battery and was let off on a $20 fine.
“Auditor Murray, taking exceptions to the remarks, took up a large lead weight and knocked the editor down.”
This incident reflects the often volatile nature of local political discourse in the late 19th century, where public disagreements in small Washington towns could escalate rapidly into physical violence, a sharp contrast to the more bureaucratic, though still contentious, nature of modern local governance.
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