The Perils of the Seattle Waterfront
While Seattle’s industrial boom demanded constant labor, workers were often left with crushed limbs and little recourse.
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.
Geo. McDonald, who has been employed in dumping the coal cars to the chutes, had two of his fingers badly crushed yesterday while coupling two cars. It was not long since he had one of his legs badly injured. There is a prospect today that the fingers will not have to be amputated, as was at first supposed.
“It was not long since he had one of his legs badly injured.”
In 1878, Seattle’s rapid growth was built on coal and rail infrastructure, often at the direct cost of worker safety. Today, while we have moved beyond manual coupling accidents, the city continues to grapple with the tension between the physical human toll of industry and the relentless pace of development.
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