The Unsuccessful Assault on a Carpenter
A local carpenter was brought to court on assault charges, but the judge found the accuser had provoked the fight.
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.
In Justice Oamn's Court yesterday, M. Choynaki was tried on a charge of assault preferred by William Rickards. The facts as brought out were about as follows: Rickards hired Choynaki, who is a carpenter, to do some work for him. This was done, and Choynaki demanded his pay. Rickards admitted that the work was satisfactory but gave unsatisfactory answers to all demands for a settlement of the account. On Friday evening, Choynaki went to Rickards' house to see him about the matter. A few words passed between the men, and Rickards picked up a stick and made a motion as if to assault Choynaki. That gentleman did not see the matter in that light, and quietly laid the man with the stick upon the sidewalk until he had a chance to cool off. Rickards then made complaint charging Choynaki with assault. After a trial, in which Kotiald and Humes conducted the prosecution and Eben Smith the defense, Choynaki was declared not guilty and the case was dismissed.
“Rickards admitted that the work was satisfactory but gave unsatisfactory answers to all demands for a settlement of the account.”
Wage theft and construction payment disputes remain a persistent issue in Seattle's housing and labor sectors. The scene of a laborer physically standing his ground against an employer who refuses to pay echoes the ongoing power imbalances in modern trade work.
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