The Shadow Ledger of 1877 Snohomish
A grand jury investigation reveals that local commissioners were caught undercutting liquor licensing fees, triggering a deeper probe into potential corruption and the misdirection of public funds.
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.
To the District Court of Snohomish County, Nov. Term, 1877: The Grand Jury for the November Term of 1877 would respectfully submit the following report of our proceedings: That we have examined the criminal matters that have come to our knowledge. We find that the Board of County Commissioners, by a general order at their May meeting, fixed the retailer liquor license at $100.00. No evidence is given in each case that little business is doing. The grocery license is fixed at $25.00 per year in place of $100.00 as required by law. The County Auditor does not keep a perfect, true book in this; that he fails to enter up the charges against the County specifically. A complaint has been made before us relative to a misappropriation of the tax on certain lands and a misappropriation of the road tax in certain districts. We cannot in our limited time investigate the charges fully, and we have laid the matter before the District Attorney and we recommend that he investigate and lay the same before the County Commissioner's Court and the next Grand Jury, and take the necessary steps to right the matter if there should be anything wrong.
“Every man’s house is his castle, therefore, let it be protected; every man’s person is the creation of Almighty, therefore, let it be secure: every man’s property is the reward of his industry, therefore, let it be preserved to him by the strong arm of the law.”
Local government oversight remains a perennial challenge in Snohomish County. The 1877 jury's frustration with officials failing to follow licensing statutes mirrors modern-day civic debates regarding transparency, zoning enforcement, and the equitable management of public funds.
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