Bribery Allegations in Roslyn Mine Explosion Trial
A juror in a wrongful death suit claims he was offered $100 and a railroad pass to protect the Northern Pacific Coal Company from liability.
The Roslyn coal mine explosion, in which over two dozen miners lost their lives, was brought into the United States court today on a motion for a new trial based upon an affidavit of Alex A. Dunn, one of the jurors who sat on the jury which decided a test case against Elizabeth Davies, whose husband was killed in the mine. Dunn swears that he was offered $100, a pass on the Northern Pacific railroad and a position with the company provided he voted to return a verdict favorable to the Northern Pacific Coal Company, the owners of the mines. He claims he refused the bribe, but saw the same man conversing with three or four of his fellow jurors. The court will hear the testimony in support of the affidavit. The case of Davies vs. the Northern Pacific Coal Company, which is owned by the Northern Pacific railroad, on the first trial resulted in a disagreement of the jury. It is estimated the damage suits would aggregate over $1,000,000.
“Dunn swears that he was offered $100, a pass on the Northern Pacific railroad and a position with the company provided he voted to return a verdict favorable to the Northern Pacific Coal Company.”
This story reveals the raw power the Northern Pacific Railroad held over Washington's legal and industrial landscape in the 1890s. The alleged bribery attempt underscores how difficult it was for working families to secure justice against corporate monopolies when the entities responsible for fatal workplace disasters also controlled the transit and livelihoods of the jurors themselves.
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