Mike O'Brien's Irreverent Grand Jury Testimony
A witness summoned regarding a city water scandal mocks the grand jury as a collection of the 'blind and the mangy.'
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.
Mike O'Brien, mentioned in the Post-Intelligencer as having received money to work for the water steal, was summoned before the county grand jury. Mike at first refused to appear immediately, leading to a warrant for contempt of court, but he eventually complied. He referred to the grand jury as 'the crowd' and offered his own account of the experience: 'Of course, I'm not to say anything. But thim fellows are duffers. Some are old, some are blind, some has the mange... They asked me where I got the money to work for the water deal? I said, 'I got it of a man.' 'Do you know him?' 'No,' I says, 'I don't know him now.' 'Ever seen him since?' 'Well, yes,' I says. 'I see him often, but I don't know him from a crow.' 'What did I do with the money?' And I says, 'I used it, but did not buy a vote nor treat, nor nothing.' Mr. O'Brien seems to think it a great joke to be called before the grand jury.
“Some are old, some are blind, some has the mange, some the ticdoulonreux.”
This reflects the deep public cynicism toward municipal corruption during the 1890s. The 'water steal' refers to the intense civic arguments over the privatization and control of Seattle and Tacoma's water resources—a recurring theme in the city's history.
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