A Violent Outburst at a South G Street Boarding House
A jealous boarding house keeper, convinced his tenants were vying for his wife's affection, launched a violent attack that left him in police custody.
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.
Iver Hansen, crazed with jealousy, tried to murder a railroad man who stays at his boarding house at 2308 South G street yesterday. It is said that Hansen believes that several of the men boarding at his place were trying to alienate the affections of Mrs. Hansen, which caused him to arm himself with a revolver and settle the affair in that way. It is charged that he made an assault on two of his boarders, trying to shoot one of them. The revolver failed to go off. Hansen was badly beaten, having numerous cuts on his face and head. He was taken to the police station by Patrolman K. D. Smith. If his condition improves he will be tried for assault, but if not he will probably be heard by an insanity commission.
“It is said that Hansen believes that several of the men boarding at his place were trying to alienate the affections of Mrs. Hansen, which caused him to arm himself with a revolver.”
Boarding houses were a ubiquitous feature of early Tacoma's working-class housing landscape, often serving as the primary living arrangement for railroad laborers. This incident reflects the intense pressures and high-stakes social friction inherent in these dense, transient shared living environments at the turn of the century.
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