The Sewer Blunder Heard 'Round Seattle
A multi-thousand dollar engineering failure exposes political cronyism and a laughable construction mistake on Front Street.
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.
Hundreds gathered along the route of the Front Street sewer to watch workers tearing down fifty feet of newly constructed masonry. The sewer had to be demolished because it was found to be out of line, nine and a half inches too high. The masons blamed the foreman, the foreman blamed the city engineer, and the engineer blamed the person who 'cut the stick' used for measuring the grade. The public is laughing, but the taxpayer must foot the bill. The blunder is widely viewed as the expected result of hiring political heelers for technical roles—men appointed to pay for ward meeting loyalty rather than for their engineering expertise. Among those employed are former bartenders and saloon keepers, including individuals with questionable political records.
“The laborer does the mechanical work. For the purpose of seeing that the work is properly done the city hires foremen and a city engineer.”
This 1894 investigation into municipal corruption and infrastructure failure highlights a long-standing tension in Seattle: the struggle to ensure public works are managed by qualified experts rather than political patronage appointees. The 'sewer job' remains a vivid example of how poor governance can lead to literal, expensive holes in the city's foundation.
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