The Proprietress and the Acid Threat
A family dispute at a Tacoma apartment house lands the owner in court after a heated altercation with her niece.
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.
Mrs. Martha McFadden, arrested yesterday afternoon on a warrant sworn out by Mrs. Myrtle Eggers, 17 years old, charging her with assault and battery, was given a nominal fine of $10 and costs by Police Judge Arntson yesterday. When Mrs. Eggers complained to Deputy Prosecutor Ralph Woods, she stated that the other woman, who is her aunt, had thrown carbolic acid in her face. Mrs. McFadden, who is proprietress of the Grandin apartments, admitted striking the girl during a dispute. The charge that she threw acid in Mrs. Eggers' face was not substantiated.
“Mrs. McFadden, who is proprietress of the Grandin apartments, admitted striking the girl during a dispute.”
This domestic dispute over property and respectability at the Grandin apartments highlights the volatility of residential life in early 20th-century Tacoma. Disputes between family members who are also landlord and tenant continue to complicate local housing dynamics today.
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