Railroad War on the Waterfront
A bitter legal battle over a disputed right-of-way erupts into accusations of perjury in court as railroad crews prepare to tear down a local businessman’s building.
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.
The hearing of the application of J. M. Colman for a temporary injunction to prevent the Columbia & Puget Sound and Northern Pacific railroads from tearing down a building between Columbia and Madison streets to continue the rail line northward was held before Judge Langley in the superior court. The hearing led to a warm verbal passage between Mr. Colman’s attorney, Judge Greene, and the railroad’s attorney, A. F. Burleigh, in the course of which the latter plainly stated that the affidavit of P. A. Hill, which was the basis of the complaint, was a piece of rank perjury. Judge Greene took immediate offense, leading to a heated altercation. The railroads had stood ready to proceed immediately with the tearing down of the Colman building if the judge had given an immediate decision in their favor, keeping two box cars on the rail's horn south of Columbia street loaded with ladders, axes and tools, and 25 men waiting for the order to advance to the attack.
“They had two box cars on the rail's horn south of Columbia street loaded with ladders, axes and tools, and had a force of 25 men waiting for the word to advance to the attack.”
This 1894 property dispute over railroad right-of-way access in downtown Seattle highlights the ruthless tactics corporations used to steamroll private owners during the city's early industrial expansion. Today, while the railroads no longer rely on 'ladders and axes' to secure their interests, the tension between major developers and existing property owners remains a defining feature of the Seattle landscape.
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