The Shame of the Wharf: Child Labor on Seattle’s Waterfront
A local paper condemns the sight of young girls selling apples among 'hard cases' and criminals at the O.R. & N. dock, demanding police intervention.
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.
WATER FRONT APPLE GIRLS.
A Most Sordid Occupation Should be Found for Them.
"Mister, please buy an apple."
The speaker was a bright-looking 13-year-old girl with a basket, in the bottom of which were six sickly-looking apples.
"We don't care to buy any," said the two respectable-looking men whom the little apple girl addressed. They were standing on the outer end of the O.R. & N. Co.'s dock, yesterday afternoon.
One of the men, who was rather benevolent looking, glanced at the shabby attire of the little girl and said:
"Here's ten cents for you, little girl, but I don't care for the apples."
Then the girl moved off smiling at her good fortune, while one of the men remarked to the other:
"Tom, it's a blasted shame to allow a child like that to sell apples around these wharves where all sorts of hard cases can be found; ain't it?"
"That's what it is, Jim. I'd hate to see a relative of mine doing it. I'd make her stop it quicker'n a wink. That's what I'd do."
There are several little girls who may be seen daily about the waterfront selling fruit. While they may be poor and while it may be necessary for them to earn their own living, it still seems as if some more suitable occupation could be found for them than selling fruit in the highways and byways along the city front. In this locality there are many honest, decent men, and there are also vagrants and other criminals. Daily contact with the latter class cannot help but be hurtful to these poor children. The police should see the parents and guardians of these children, and, if possible, they should be compelled to find a more suitable employment than that in which they are now engaged.
This 1899 editorial highlights the precarious intersection of poverty and child labor on Seattle’s industrial waterfront. While modern laws strictly prohibit such visible child vending, the underlying issue—children in working-class neighborhoods navigating unsafe or exploitative environments to survive—remains a potent social concern today.
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