Whistleblower Exposes Shoddy Work on County Almshouse
A veteran bricklayer alleges that the new county building was built with inferior materials and covered up with paint to deceive inspectors.
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T. P. McDermott, a veteran bricklayer of twenty-three years, has issued a sharp denial of a report published in other papers concerning the quality of the county almshouse construction. McDermott states that a 'so-called' committee appointed by the Western Central Labor Union was never authorized by the Bricklayers' Union and that the committee member, W. H. Middleton, is incompetent. McDermott alleges that the brickwork is the most inferior he has ever seen, featuring excessively large joints and poor arch construction. He claims the work was painted specifically to cover these structural defects and that political schemes, rather than labor interests, are driving the official defense of the building's construction.
“I have never before in my career seen the brickwork of a building painted before being accepted by the architect. The only reason I can assign for such a course being adopted is 'to cover the defects in the work.'”
Public works transparency and the integrity of building inspections are issues that have faced Seattle's municipal government from the 19th century through the present day. McDermott’s letter serves as an early example of a trade union member using the press to hold public officials accountable for taxpayer-funded construction.
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