The Price of a Lost Election Bet
After betting on the wrong presidential candidate, a local man spent his afternoon forced to play a hand organ for charity to settle his debt.
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.
There is one man in Seattle who will never again make a rash and silly bet. Yesterday, from 1:30 o'clock until 4 o'clock, Matt Brannigan turned a hand organ on the public streets and was the butt of every wit who passed. He was promptly on time at the corner of Second and Cherry, where he was joined by Jesse Cochran, the successful bettee, who held a soap box for the purpose of collecting contributions for the Orphans' home. For two and a half hours, Matt Brannigan ground out sounds from a wheezy hurdy-gurdy and tried to keep his good humor, while he bewailed the defeat of Harrison. Jesse Cochran, who was having all the fun and making a pretty good collection, was merciless in exacting his pound of flesh. He toted Matt around the most thronged corners and wound up on Pioneer place, where Brannigan's martyrdom was brought to a close.
“Jesse Cochran, who was having all the fun and making a pretty good collection, was merciless in exacting his pound of flesh.”
Public humiliation as a form of social currency is a classic feature of 19th-century election cycles. While we have moved beyond forced street-organ playing, the intense performative tribalism of betting on politicians remains a staple of our political discourse.
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