The Unpaid Fireman Who Claimed His Job Back
A suspended firefighter, accused of bribery, returns to city hall demanding back pay for his two-year absence.
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.
Oswald Vitzthum, who was suspended nearly two years ago and now claims that he has never been discharged, demanded pay for the whole time. Vitzthum is the man who made an affidavit that he had paid ex-Commissioner Foster to put him on the force. It was alleged last night that Vitzthum had worked for about ten months in the water department and has also been to San Francisco during the time he claims to have been on the pay rolls of the fire department. At the request of counsel, the board decided to have Commissioners Masel and Meek confer with the corporation counsel on the subject.
“Vitzthum is the man who made affidavit that he had paid ex-Commissioner Foster to put him on the force.”
Municipal hiring, corruption, and the legacy of patronage in public safety departments were central anxieties in 1890s Seattle. The struggle to hold city departments accountable for their payrolls and hiring practices echoes contemporary efforts to increase oversight and transparency in the Seattle Fire Department.
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