The Struggle for Liquor Licensing in the Municipal Court
Mrs. Graham challenges the court's fines, claiming discrimination in the enforcement of liquor laws.
There was quite a lively time in the municipal court yesterday afternoon when the keeper of a chophouse on Washington street named Mrs. Graham refused to pay a fine of $100 for selling liquor without a license and Judge Glasgow ordered a commitment made out by Clerk Crawford. Last Saturday a girl named Mahaffay and Bella Burns, colored, were fined $50 by Judge Glasgow for selling liquor without a license. The former paid her fine and the latter paid part, being given time for the remainder. Yesterday Mrs. Graham was in court on a similar charge and the judge announced that her fine would be $100. Mrs. Graham was indignant and refused to pay, claiming that there was discrimination. The judge ordered a commitment made out, but after deliberation and consultation allowed Mrs. Graham to pay half to the court and take time for the balance.
“Mrs. Graham was indignant and refused to pay, claiming that there was discrimination.”
This incident highlights the arbitrary nature of municipal fines and the role of licensing as a tool of social and economic control in late 19th-century Seattle. The explicit mention of the court's disparate treatment of defendants underscores the systemic inequities that local government records often inadvertently expose.
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