Collapse of the Steilacoom Distilling Plant
A creditor seeks a receiver for a charcoal and creosote plant that failed to sustain operations after only four months.
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.
J. Bamford has sued the Tacoma Wood Distilling Company to recover $218.05, which he claims is due him for supplies furnished by the Tacoma Bran Machine Works Company. The defendant company erected a plant at Steilacoom some time ago to manufacture charcoal, tar, creosote, and other products. The plant discontinued operations after running about four months. The plaintiff company alleges that the Distilling Company is indebted to other parties and is unable to pay its obligations, and for that reason asks that a receiver be appointed.
“The plant discontinued operations after running about four months.”
This reflects the volatile nature of early 20th-century industrial ventures in the Puget Sound, where undercapitalized manufacturing plants frequently collapsed, leaving unpaid debts in their wake.
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