A Community Keeps a Job Open for an Injured Neighbor
When an auditor was sidelined by severe physical injuries, the community and competing candidates moved to ensure he could still earn a living through the office fees.
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.
Now that calls have been issued for the county conventions, men begin to think somewhat upon the subject of who shall be the servants of the people in our county for the next two years. So far little party interest or party feeling has been manifested, the main desire being to secure the best qualified to fill the respective offices, independent of party considerations. There seems to be one exception to this in the Auditor’s office. A short time since quite a number of worthy men were spoken of as probable candidates, but quite recently the name of Mr. John Swett was suggested as a suitable person, well qualified to perform the duties of the office, and entitled to receive it by reason of the severe physical injuries he received, making it impossible for him to work again for a long time to come. Men of all parties have unanimously approved of the suggestion, and every candidate has formally declined to run against Mr. Swett. We suggest that it would be a suitable testimonial of respect for him in his misfortune, as well as an endorsement of him as a man, for each party to nominate him on their respective tickets and make no contest for that office.
“We suggest that it would be a suitable testimonial of respect for him in his misfortune, as well as an endorsement of him as a man, for each party to nominate him, on their respective tickets.”
This 1876 account offers a striking look at local mutual aid, where neighbors prioritized the welfare of an injured resident over political party machinery. It reflects a pre-bureaucratic, high-trust era of Snohomish life that contrasts sharply with the impersonal nature of modern government employment.
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