The Tragic Death of a Great Northern Laborer
A railroad worker dies following a brutal brawl at a Third Street saloon, leading to the arrest of a local proprietor.
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.
John E. Fletcher, proprietor of the Gem saloon, located in the Kinnear building at 213 South Third street, was placed under arrest last evening by Detective Cudihee on suspicion of having inflicted injuries upon Richard Murphy, a laborer, that resulted in his death at the county hospital yesterday morning. Murphy, who was a Great Northern laborer at Leavenworth, on the Cascade division of the Great Northern railroad, came to the city about a week ago and immediately commenced to drink. According to police reports, Murphy was found in the rear room of the Gem saloon in great pain. Officer Powers reported that the man had been kicked in the stomach by Fletcher following a dispute over money. Though Fletcher denied the assault, claiming Murphy was merely intoxicated and had fallen during a wrestling match, Murphy died from internal hemorrhaging. Fletcher was later interviewed by the Chief of Police and held pending an inquiry.
“Murphy said that he got into a wrestling match with Fletcher, and beyond remembering that Fletcher said, 'You—I'll fix you,' all was a blank.”
This incident highlights the precarious reality for migrant laborers in 1890s Seattle, where 'skid road' saloons often doubled as centers for financial exploitation and violence. Today, the location near 3rd Avenue reflects a century of urban development, yet the exploitation of transient workers remains a persistent civic issue in the city's housing and labor discourse.
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