Brutal Robbery at the Chicago Restaurant
A local restaurant owner was found unconscious and severely beaten after a targeted assault in his own home.
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.
Louis Marx, proprietor of the Chicago restaurant, was assaulted, robbed and nearly killed this morning while retiring to his room over his place on Pacific avenue. He had to pass through a dark room before reaching his bedroom, and behind some barrels in the dark room the robbers secreted themselves. When Marx passed they sprang upon him, crushing his head with pieces of stove wood. He bled profusely, and towards 3 o'clock this morning appeared at the door of his restaurant calling for help. It is not known how long he had remained in the dark room, but after reaching the door of his place he lapsed into unconsciousness and has remained thus since. A piece of bone two inches in circumference has been taken from his skull, and it is believed he will die. The robbers left some small change scattered about the floor, together with $2,300 in city and county warrants, which they overlooked. It is the generally accepted belief that some of the hobos supposed to have been brought here by the boodlers to register assaulted and robbed Marx.
“A piece of bone two inches in circumference has been taken from his skull, and it is believed he will die.”
This incident reflects the raw, often lawless atmosphere of Tacoma during the 1894 municipal elections, where political corruption and transient labor populations collided in ways that left shopkeepers vulnerable. Violence against business owners, often linked to the 'boodler' class of political operators, was a recurring theme in the city's fractious political history.
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