Regional Moral Panics Over 'Indecent' Papers
Tacoma and Olympia officials move to ban the sale of the Seattle Mercury and the Spokane Sunday Sun, labeling them 'obscene literature' and threatening vendors with prison time.
Chief of Police Davie has decided that hereafter the law in regard to the sale of indecent literature must be strictly enforced, and all newsdealers, newsboys or others will be promptly arrested on criminal warrants for violations. The penalty is a term in prison of not more than three years, or a fine not exceeding $2,000, or both. He said that the Spokane Sun will be placed upon the list of indecent newspapers, and probably the Seattle Mercury. This order is expected to completely stop the sale of both papers. The Olympian reports that it will go hard with anybody found selling the Seattle Mercury or the Spokane Sunday Sun hereafter on the streets. Any person found selling or attempting to sell either of these papers or any other obscene literature will be arrested and fined to the extent of $50.
“Chief of Police Davie has decided that hereafter the law in regard to the sale of indecent literature must be strictly enforced.”
This era's 'moral panic' over independent papers highlights how municipalities used police power to suppress dissenting or 'indecent' voices. It serves as a stark reminder of the fragile state of press freedom in the late 19th-century Northwest.
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