The Theater Owner's Vicious Reckoning
After a gambling raid, a theater owner allegedly beat his accuser within the walls of his own business.
John Considine, proprietor of the People's-Standard theater, was arrested yesterday by Detective Cudihee on a warrant charging assault and battery against W. L. Wilson. The trouble originated over a recent raid on Considine's crap game in the basement of the theater. Witnesses for the city, including Wilson, were in court Tuesday when the constitutionality of the gambling ordinance was argued. Considine, having learned who testified against him, allegedly summoned Wilson to his office at the theater under the guise of a 'social talk.' According to Wilson, he was led to the second floor, where Considine locked the door. Considine then accused him of being a 'stool pigeon.' When Wilson refused to be bullied or bribed, Considine attacked him, striking him with his hat and kicking him. Wilson emerged on the sidewalk with a bleeding face and torn clothes. Considine was released on bail to appear in municipal court.
“I wasn't working for the $20 and if he wanted it he could have it, and that it was the principle of the thing I looked at.”
Considine was a legendary figure in Seattle's underworld, and this story captures the violent intersection of nightlife and city politics. It mirrors ongoing urban tensions where business interests—both illicit and legitimate—clash with public regulation and legal enforcement.
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