A Wharfside Standoff Over a Sewing Machine
A passenger aboard a steamer bound for Alaska attempted to physically resist a constable serving an attachment writ for a debt owed to the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
Quite an interesting scene was enacted at Schwabacher's wharf yesterday morning. Just before the steamer Chilcat unlatched anchor and started for Alaska, Constable Fitzgerald, of Justice Caldwell's court, served a writ of attachment on the household goods of P. J. Crowley, one of the passengers on the steamer, for $71.50, on behalf of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Crowley refused to make any settlement, and his anger kept rising when Constable Fitzgerald would not give in. Calling on his son and a friend, he started in 'to do' Fitzgerald and Deputy Sheriff Crabtree, but was overpowered. The constable threatened to take the goods away, but was informed by J. G. Carroll, agent for the wharf, that the goods could not be taken away without a bond being given. This settled Mr. Crowley and he returned to the steamer, satisfied that his goods were safe for the time being, and that he could not whip the officers of the law. A compromise was effected and Crowley's goods allowed to be placed aboard.
“Crowley refused to make any settlement, and his anger kept rising when Constable Fitzgerald would not give in.”
This incident highlights the aggressive debt collection practices of the late 19th century, where household goods were frequently seized to satisfy small debts. It serves as a reminder of the precarious financial lives of working-class residents during the economic volatility of the 1890s.
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