The Perils of the Seattle Coal Incline
Two railroad workers are severely injured within 24 hours while attempting to board moving coal cars in a grim, repetitive industrial accident.
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.
Mr. George McDonald, an employee of the railroad company, met with an accident this afternoon on the railroad track, in precisely the same manner as the young man who was injured last evening. While undertaking to jump on one of the cars, he fell with his right foot across the track, and the wheel crushed the flesh on the side of his ankle in a shocking manner. Fortunately, the car was light, or it would have injured him as badly as young Pierce was. As it is, he will be disabled from work for some weeks. He was removed to the residence of Mr. Amasa Miller on Third street, and his injuries were attended to by Dr. Calhoun. It is a curious coincidence that these two accidents should have happened, as they did, in precisely the same manner, and to parties performing the same work.
“It is a curious coincidence that these two accidents should have happened, as they did, in precisely the same manner, and to parties performing the same work.”
Workplace safety in Seattle’s early industrial era was notoriously brutal, with workers often forced to jump onto moving trains to maintain speed. Today, while workplace regulations have evolved, the struggle between corporate efficiency and the physical safety of workers remains a central tension in the modern logistics and transportation industries.
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