City Treasurer Found Guilty of Embezzlement
After a swift trial, Seattle's city treasurer is convicted, signaling a rare victory for local reform efforts.
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 Krug trial resulted as was to be expected. It is well that in this city and county a beginning is to be made in the matter of punishing official defaulters. In the past, offenders of this sort have not only escaped punishment but have been coddled and made much of by the press and by manipulators, and the public have been quiescent. At last, a defaulter has been found against whom it is popular to rail. Krug, the Seattle treasurer, has been found guilty as charged, after a long and stubborn trial. It took the Seattle jury ten minutes to convict Krug. Several wealthy citizens of Seattle were indicted along with Krug for being in on his deal, and it looks as though each was good for a term at Walla Walla.
“It took the Seattle jury ten minutes to convict Krug. What a commentary on the 'impassioned utterances' of Dude Lewis, Krug's attorney.”
Public corruption and the struggle for accountability in city hall are perennial themes in Seattle politics. This specific trial marked a significant moment for the city’s reputation during the late 19th-century boom.
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