The Father Who Wanted an Affidavit That the Flour Was Not Poisoned
Seattle's charity superintendent found William Emrich's family living in an old store without food or bedding, the children blistered by their father's poison fears. The case became a window into destitution, paranoia, and who deserved public aid.
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.
Superintendent James N. Gilmer, of the Bureau of Associated Charities, made an investigation of the family of William Emrich, who recently complained to the prosecuting attorney that several persons at his home at Kingston, Kitsap County, had tried to poison him, and found them in a deplorable condition. They are living in an old store at 3415 Front Street, and Mr. Gilmer found them without bed clothing or food. The children are covered over with sores, made by having been blistered by the father to draw out the poison he claims they received from dog fennel. Mr. Gilmer went to Dr. Palmer for medical aid, but the latter had no authority to treat the family as they are not residents of this county. Mr. Gilmer made an order upon Comptroller Tarry to have Dr. Palmer sent to the aid of the family, and the physician is now in attendance. A man named Winslow called at the house a few mornings ago, and seeing the condition of the family, volunteered to send them a sack of flour. Emrich told him he would accept it if he would make an affidavit that there was no poison in it. Winslow thought the man crazy, and reported the destitute condition of the family to Mr. Gilmer. Emrich is trying to invoke the aid of the county commissioners to send him back to Kingston.
“Emrich told him he would accept it if he would make an affidavit that there was no poison in it.”
In 1894, a family without food, bedding, or legal residency depended on a charity superintendent's discretion and a doctor's authority. The Emrich case rhymes with Seattle's present debates over homelessness, public health, and who counts as a local resident entitled to help.
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