The City Council’s Hammock Scandal
Seattle’s city fathers clash over the 'reckless extravagance' of buying thirty-four hammocks for the city jail.
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.
At a meeting of the board of aldermen, Alderman Pontius rebuked the city’s department heads for their profligate spending. He pointed specifically to a recent bill for thirty-four hammocks for the city jail, priced at $4 each—what he called 'fine, comfortable, reclining hammocks for the hobos.' Other council members joined the fray, with Mr. Hall noting that the canvas hammocks were being cut to pieces by prisoners, suggesting that if they had to sleep on the floor, they would be less likely to cause damage. Despite the friction over spending, the council passed the ordinance to pay the bills, prioritizing fiscal caution while struggling to manage the basic costs of the city's infrastructure and detention facilities.
“He called attention to a bill for 34 hammocks, for the jail, at $4 each—fine, comfortable, reclining hammocks for the hobos.”
The perennial struggle between 'fiscal responsibility' and the basic maintenance of public institutions is a hallmark of Seattle city politics, often repeating the same rhetoric of 'hobo' indulgence that fueled 19th-century municipal debates.
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