The Shadow of a Workplace Grudge
A Public Works Commissioner pleads for police protection as he fears a discharged laborer may seek a violent revenge.
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.
Jesse Cochran, member of the board of public works, consulted Chief of Police Jackson yesterday regarding the advisability of putting Patrick Lavan, a laborer, under bonds to keep the peace. No action was taken, but the police will keep close watch in deference to the commissioner's fears. Lavan is the man who shot Street Commissioner Cummings in his office last spring because he had been discharged from his place as a laborer. It appears that Lavan is now under the impression that Mr. Cochran was instrumental in having him discharged and since then has threatened Cochran's life. Following the assault on Cummings, an ordinance was introduced into the council providing for connecting every room in the city hall with the police department by an electric alarm system. The matter was seriously considered for a time, but people laughed at it so much that the council killed it last Tuesday night.
“Lavan is the man who shot Street Commissioner Cummings in his office last spring because he had been discharged from his place as a laborer.”
This story reveals the intense volatility of labor relations in the 1890s, where loss of employment could lead to desperate, violent acts. The failed attempt to install electric alarms in City Hall underscores how the city was struggling to modernize security in the face of deep-seated civic discontent.
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