Mill Worker Attempts Suicide Amid Personal Despair
A Tacoma mill employee remains in critical condition after a desperate act brought on by his wife's absence.
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.
Charles Burke, a half-breed Indian, employed at the Tacoma mill, attempted suicide early last evening by drinking a pint of wood alcohol. He is now lying in a comatose condition at the county hospital. Burke is believed to have become despondent on account of the absence of his wife, who left him to visit relatives near Victoria, B. C.
“Burke is believed to have become despondent on account of the absence of his wife.”
The era's reporting often used racial identifiers as descriptors, reflecting the period's colonial gaze. The story underscores the isolation faced by transient industrial laborers, a demographic that remains vulnerable to economic and social upheaval in Pacific Northwest port cities.
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