Streetcar Injury in the Madison Valley
A four-year-old boy files a $25,000 lawsuit after being mangled by a cable car near the Madison Street powerhouse.
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.
Charles Chapman Jr., a boy 4 years old, yesterday brought suit in the superior court to recover from the Madison Street Cable Railway Company $25,000 damages for personal injuries. He alleges that while he was waiting near the track for a car, another car struck him, knocked him down and mangled his foot, as he claims disabling him for life from earning a living. The accident occurred near the Madison Street power house on January 10.
“He alleges that while he was waiting near the track for a car, another car struck him, knocked him down and mangled his foot.”
Cable car accidents were a common byproduct of the rapid, profit-driven electrification of Seattle transit in the late 19th century. Lawsuits against transit monopolies were frequent, marking early public efforts to hold corporate infrastructure accountable for civic safety.
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