The Lodging House Brawl
A local dispute over a lodging house assault leads to a courtroom showdown and a fine for the proprietor.
Katheryn Gates, who claims to be one of the wives of the numerously wedded 'Swiftwater Bill' Gates, of Alaska fame, swore out warrants against one Cora Rheody, who keeps a lodging house at the lower end of the main street of town, charging that the said Cora had been guilty of assault and battery on the person of Kathryn. The papers were served and the case tried by Justice Ankerson on Monday. The defendant asked for a jury trial and was represented by Attorney Sherlock of the Washington side. After the evidence and due deliberation on the part of the jury, the defendant was found guilty, and the justice found that about $10 and costs would serve as a balm for the trouble.
“The defendant asked for a jury trial... the justice found that about $10 and costs would serve as a balm for the trouble.”
This account of a lodging house dispute highlights the precarious nature of housing and social order in early 20th-century Newport. While the setting has changed, the tension between transient populations and established residents remains a recurring theme in the town's civic life.
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