The Worn-Out Tongs That Killed a Newport Log Scaler
James Wall was loading logs for the Panhandle Lumber Co. when a falling log struck him dead. His family’s $50,000 suit against the Idaho & Washington Northern ended with a $5,000 verdict — and a defense that blamed Wall for standing in danger.
Melissa Wall and three minor children, heirs-at-law and next of kin of James Wall, deceased, were awarded a verdict of $5000 by a jury in the United States circuit court at Spokane Wednesday against the Idaho Washington Northern Railway Co. Mrs. Wall and her children brought suit against the railway company for $50,000 damages for the alleged negligent killing of James Wall, a log scaler in the employ of the Panhandle Lumber Co., whose death occurred near Newport, Oct. 31, 1908, while he was engaged in scaling logs which were being loaded on one of the cars of the defendant company. The logs were loaded by means of a derrick, cable and tongs, and a small log, which had been raised several feet, fell, striking Wall and killing him instantly. The allegation of negligence on the part of the railway company was that the tongs were defective, being practically worn out. The defense interposed was that Wall was violating orders in scaling logs in a place of danger.
“The allegation of negligence on the part of the railway company was that the tongs were defective, being practically worn out.”
Workplace deaths in logging and rail loading were common in early Newport, but the Wall case shows families using the courts to demand accountability for defective equipment. The defense’s claim that Wall was “violating orders” echoes modern disputes over worker safety and employer responsibility. The $5,000 verdict — a fraction of the $50,000 sought — also reminds us how modest wrongful-death compensation could be.
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