The Funeral Pyre of Justice: Seattle Burns Its Gambling Den
As the Territorial Grand Jury demands a sewer system and a new jail, Sheriff Cochrane immolates tons of gambling paraphernalia on a public bonfire, while Judge Burke condemns saloon keepers to revoke their licenses.
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.
The February term of the District Court for the Third Judicial District adjourned last evening after 95 judicial days. In this brief time, a great amount of business had been dispatched. At the opening of the term, Judge Burke announced his intention of clearing the over-crowded county jail, though he was hindered by the Wickersham trial which consumed eight days.
At 8 o'clock last evening, the territorial grand jury brought in its final report. Among other findings, they investigated disturbances at Newcastle and the case of Albert Isaacs, recently the subject of mob law at Gilman, but were unable to disclose the guilty parties. They also noted the poor sanitary condition of Seattle, insisting that "immediate and extensive measures should be taken... to provide a suitable sewerage and garbage system."
The gambling cases were called up at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon for sentencing. Judge Burke fined several gamblers heavily: Henry Foster and E.W. Way $625 each; Thos. H. Daley and Ed Guthrie $182.50 each; J.E. Griffin $350; H. Taylor, Thos. Tilden $330; H.R. Thompson $120; and E.C. Huntley $120. Bonds were furnished for the owners of the places.
Sheriff Cochrane was called into court and asked what he had done with the condemned gambling tools and implements. "I burned them, sir," replied the Sheriff in his richest Celtic accent, as he pointed to the window through which could be seen the smoke arising from a boat worth of tambling paraphernalia that was being immolated on the funeral pyre of justice.
"That's right," said his honor with an approving nod. The court then delivered a stern address upon gambling, stating: "The records of the court at this term show that many of the saloons in this city are really gambling houses... The most effective method of dealing with such places is for the Common Council promptly to revoke the licenses of every saloon keeper who is shown by these records to have kept a gambling house in his saloon."
Judge Burke took occasion again to call the attention of the City Council to the necessity of revoking licenses of all saloons in which gambling has been carried on.
This 1890 account captures Seattle's transition from a rough territorial outpost to a regulated city, highlighting the tension between moral reform and civic infrastructure. The Sheriff's public burning of gambling equipment mirrors modern debates over vice enforcement, while the Grand Jury’s urgent plea for a sewer system foreshadows the massive public works projects that would define Seattle's early 20th-century growth.
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