Seattle Declares Victory Over Smallpox Outbreak
After twenty days of tension, health officials confirm the city is safe, though the bill for containment—and a sharp rebuke for those who brought the sickness to town—remains.
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.
According to reports from our health officer, the time has come when our city may be considered exempted from all danger from the recent small-pox cases. Twenty days have passed since the first case, from which we had the most cause to fear, was buried. Contagion from the second case, which was properly cared for in its incipient stage, is quite out of the question, as some nine days have elapsed since that one died and was buried. We have great reason to congratulate ourselves on our good fortune in escaping the pestilence which threatened to spread among us. But there is quite a little bill left behind, however, which must come out of the pockets of the taxpayers. All this expense, to say nothing of the trouble and annoyance, was imposed upon us by the vile wretch who brought the two diseased men here from Victoria. The lesson taught should not be forgotten, and some means should be devised to prevent the traffic in these miserable prostitutes by a degraded set of outcasts, who are too low to be called men.
“The lesson taught should not be forgotten, and some means should be devised to prevent the traffic in these miserable prostitutes by a degraded set of outcasts, who are too low to be called men.”
Public health crises have long been a flashpoint for Seattle politics, from 19th-century quarantine battles to recent municipal struggles. While the language used here is reflective of the era's harsh moralizing toward the vulnerable, the core tension—who bears the cost of public health safety—remains a central theme in modern Seattle governance.
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