The Grand Jury Probes the 'Restricted District'
Tacoma investigators hunt for proof of who really profits from the city's red-light district properties.
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.
B. Bertleson, a real estate dealer, and Arthur Kuhl, formerly an agent for Peter Sandberg, were the principal witnesses before the grand jury today, which is making an attempt to determine the real ownership of the buildings in the restricted district. Bertleson has offices in Sandberg's Kentucky building and is supposed to be doing Sandberg's rental business. He was before the grand jury only a short time, but Kuhl was in session with the probers for over an hour. During the Wright administration when the town was wide open, Kuhl was the manager of the Standard House and he also was supposed to collect all daily receipts from the scores of unfortunate women harbored in that building and the Globe Hotel. While it is generally known that Sandberg is the real owner of all the property in that section, the grand jury is searching for definite proof of this point. Owners of buildings used for such purposes can be punished under the state law.
“While it is generally known that Sandberg is the real owner of all the property in that section, the grand jury is searching for definite proof.”
This 1909 investigation into the 'restricted district' highlights the long-standing civic tension regarding the exploitation of vulnerable women in Tacoma's illicit economy. Much like today's debates over property ownership and landlord accountability in gentrifying neighborhoods, the city sought to use the law to pierce the corporate veil of those profiting from marginalized communities.
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