The Steamboat Mutiny on Lake Washington
A steamboat captain learns the hard way that he cannot fire an employee when that employee is armed and allegedly an anarchist.
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.
Capt. Pellef A. Jensen, a Lake Washington steamboatman, has found that he cannot discharge an employee without his consent except at his own peril. When he attempted to discharge Charles Morrison, he claims that the latter took a shot at him. According to Jensen's story, Morrison is an anarchist with 'Prendergast ideas.' His work not being entirely satisfactory, Jensen desired to discharge him, but Morrison would not listen, claiming he was a free American and would work as long as he pleased and get paid as long as he worked. The dispute between employer and employee was resumed Monday evening at a scow on Lake Washington. One hard word led to another until Morrison, losing his temper, whipped out a revolver belonging to Jensen and threatened to blow the top of his employer's head off. As soon as Jensen caught a glimpse of the revolver, he fled in terror and took refuge behind a stump. Peeping out to see what had become of the gun-wielder, his head formed an excellent target and Morrison fired, but the bullet went wide. Jensen later swore out a warrant for Morrison's arrest before Justice Humphrey on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
“He claims that he was a free American and would work as long as he pleased and get paid as long as he worked.”
Labor disputes in the 1890s could escalate into life-or-death confrontations with surprising frequency, reflecting a period of intense industrial unrest. Today's gig economy and at-will employment landscape lack the literal gunfights of the Lake Washington waterfront, but the tension over who controls the worker’s time and labor remains a resonant, if more bureaucratic, struggle.
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