The Pioneer's Protest Against the Building Tax
A pioneer stands his ground against city ordinances, preferring jail to paying what he calls an 'unjust tax.'
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.
The hearing of W. L. Treston, the well-known pioneer, who was arrested last Friday upon a charge of violating the building ordinance, was continued by Police Judge Piles yesterday. Mr. Treston was building a house on some property north of town when arrested. He became very indignant at the officials who had taken him in and spent the night in the lockup. Mr. Treston says his arrest was malicious and instigated by an anti-pioneer spirit. City Attorney Preston offered to drop the case if Mr. Treston would take out a building permit, but the old man said he would do nothing more than pay an unjust tax. He says he is going to fight the case to the end.
“He says he is going to fight the case to the end.”
Taxation, permits, and property rights have been a flashpoint in Seattle civic culture since its founding. This dispute highlights the tension between the 'pioneer' class—who built the city—and the growing regulatory apparatus of a rapidly modernizing municipality.
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