The Great Rat War of the Seattle Waterfront
A local commission merchant argues that poor box design is turning Seattle apple shipments into a banquet for waterfront vermin.
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.
To the Editor: I see that in your issue of May 23rd you publish a plan for shipping apples recommended by a committee of the Fruit Growers' Association. For short hauls, they recommend the lids, tops, and bottoms to be nailed on the side—making a box 11 1/2 x 12 inches. This would mean each side, bottom and top is a board 12 inches wide. As a shipper, I would object to this. If the apples are properly packed they will press flush against the opening, offering a tempting bait to rats to take a nibble. I can see a furrow run from one end to the other on one side by rats where the style of box recommended was used. Rats are cunning as well as mischievous, and anyone doubting this can be convinced by packing a box of apples and leaving them a night or two on any of the wharves along the city front. There are other objections needless to mention here. Instead of the top and bottom being in one piece there should be two pieces, each 6 inches wide. The sides should be 11 inches wide. Then the top would project over the side and form a perfect finish and leave the ventilation in the center, preventing any possibility of the rats getting at the fruit.
“Rats are cunning as well as mischievous, and anyone doubting this can be convinced by packing a box of apples and leaving them a night or two on any of the wharves along the city front.”
While the specific maritime concerns of commission merchants have evolved, the struggle to protect Seattle’s infrastructure from rats remains a perennial civic battle. The intersection of local trade standards and urban pest management is a theme that has persisted on the waterfront for over a century.
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