Trafficking Charges in the City
A man stands accused of luring two sisters from Puyallup to Seattle under the false pretense of domestic employment.
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.
Fred Rantenier had a hearing before Justice Von Tobel yesterday on the charge of enticing girls away from home and inducing them to lead lives of prostitution. The girls are named Susie and Edith Pinnel. They told quite a straight story of their having come from Puyallup at the request of the defendant and upon his promise to secure them work at domestic service. D. A. Donahoe, a driver at the city livery stables, 613 Main street, was an unwilling witness, but was finally compelled to admit that the defendant and he had spoken of the purpose for which the girls had been brought to the city. The justice held the defendant in $500 bail to appear before the superior court.
“The girls are named Susie and Edith Pinnel. They told quite a straight story of their having come from Puyallup at the request of the defendant.”
This case highlights the predatory nature of human trafficking, which used the veil of 'domestic service' to exploit vulnerable young women moving to the city. While the language used by the 1892 press is judgmental, the underlying exploitation of migrants moving to growing cities remains a persistent and tragic social issue.
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