A Saloon Showdown in Tacoma
A complicated dispute over a local watering hole descends into a flurry of mutual arrests and legal maneuvering.
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.
Saloon people are watching with great interest a lively fight for possession of the Hub saloon, which broke out tonight and is still on. Frank D. Wilson and J. J. McKay placed M. V. Snyder and Joe Byrnes in possession of the place with the understanding that the title should pass to them upon the performance of certain things. Snyder gave A. Weinberg a chattel mortgage on the saloon for $1,300, and tonight the fight for possession began by Wilson and McKay having Snyder arrested for embezzlement. Under section 55 of the penal code, they were informed that Snyder was guilty of embezzlement in disposing of property not owned by him. The man whom Snyder left in charge was arrested for provoking an assault by interfering with Wilson and McKay. Snyder was released on $200 bonds, and at once started out and had Wilson, N. J. McKay, F. D. McKay and Ed Flannigan arrested on a charge of forcible trespass on freehold, and all were bailed out on $50 each. The police are now in possession.
“Saloon people are watching with great interest a lively fight for possession of the Hub saloon.”
Business disputes over property and ownership are as old as the city itself. While we don't often see competing parties getting arrested on the street today, the clash between contract holders, mortgage lenders, and operators remains a fundamental tension in Tacoma's business landscape.
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