The Unsuccessful Shingle Mill Debt Collector
A laborer at a Ballard shingle mill attempts to collect back wages with his fists, but ends up in a brawl with his employer.
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.
Felix Friday, an employee of Edward Auld's shingle mill at Ballard, used his fists as a collection agency yesterday afternoon, and, though he did not get the money, he made quite an impression on his employer. He went to Mr. Auld at the mill and demanded payment of some back wages and Mr. Auld put him off. He objected and said so in such forcible language that Auld struck him; Friday then knocked Auld down and was about to thrash him soundly when the other employees interfered and separated them.
“Felix Friday, an employee of Edward Auld's shingle mill at Ballard, used his fists as a collection agency yesterday afternoon.”
Wage theft remains a persistent issue in Seattle's blue-collar industries, though modern workers now have the state Department of Labor & Industries to turn to instead of settling debts on the shop floor.
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