The Loudmouth of Pioneer Place
A citizen complains to the Post-Intelligencer about a street orator using obscene language and attacking religions, urging police intervention.
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.
In the interest of the public peace and of common decency, I desire to call the attention of your readers and the police to what I call a nuisance. Two or three times a week in the evening on Pioneer Place, an individual can be seen and heard haranguing a crowd of idlers. He usually selects the time for his harangue immediately after the Salvation Army has finished their public demonstration, and his aim seems to be to cast discredit on all organized religion. He is animated by special malice against the Roman Catholic church and the Salvation Army, and in the course of his remarks utters the most abusive and obscene language, vituperative of all religion, and occasionally attacks the reputation of individuals. His audience is largely composed of persons who know nothing of the Bible or any other book of religion, and his observations are characterized by the wildest fanaticism, crudest ignorance, and shameful misstatement of religious tenets. His speech is so violent that I fear it will lead to a breach of the peace if he is allowed to continue. The plea is made for him that he has an equal right with the Salvation Army or other religious body to hold his meetings in the open air. To this, I object that the Salvation Army are well known to be engaged in good works and never employ language abusive or calculated to bring about a breach of the peace. This man, on the contrary, makes his appeal to the lowest and most degraded that is in humanity, and is in the habit of passing around his hat for the small change of the crowd. Is there no city ordinance which deals with that?
“His audience is largely composed of persons who know nothing of the Bible... and his observations and criticisms are characterized by the wildest fanaticism.”
Public discourse on Pioneer Square—today known as Pioneer Square Park—remains a flashpoint for debates over free speech, public nuisance, and the use of urban space. The tension between historical religious street ministry and today's diverse array of political and social activists captures a recurring rhythm of Seattle's civic identity.
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