The Tenant Who Found Her English in Court
A South Seattle rent quarrel ends in police court, where a tenant who needed an interpreter suddenly answers the judge in perfect English.
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.
Mary R. Lewis and Elizabeth Sander, neighbors in South Seattle, the latter a tenant of the former, quarreled over rent, and Mrs. Lewis gave Mrs. Sander a beating. Mrs. Lewis was charged in police court with assault and battery and pleaded not guilty, and Mrs. Sander told her story through an interpreter. Mrs. Lewis said that for some time Mrs. Sander had been in the habit of calling her vile names. No sooner had Mrs. Lewis mentioned the specific words used by Mrs. Sander than that personage, who required an interpreter, said to the court in good English: "Well, judge, she called the names first." Mrs. Lewis was fined $5.
“"Well, judge, she called the names first."”
Rent disputes have always been personal, and this 1893 case shows how quickly a landlord-tenant quarrel could escalate. The courtroom twist also reminds us that language and immigration status were already part of the power dynamics in Seattle's neighborhoods.
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