The City of Checks and Balances
A Seattle man is indicted for a $2,160 forgery spree, while a local police officer’s sudden wealth—and his suggestion that he made it smuggling opium—becomes a matter of intense public curiosity.
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.
W. M. White was brought into court yesterday on two indictments. When asked by the clerk if his true name was W. M. White, he responded, 'It is.' White then leaned back into his chair, looking pale and worried. Earlier that afternoon, a civil suit was filed against White by C. T. Wooding & Co., bankers of Aberdeen, to recover $2,160. The complaint shows that on September 13, White presented the plaintiff four checks, knowing them to be forgeries. In a separate case, Tom Moran’s trial was called. The prosecution noted that while on the police force, Moran’s bank book showed deposits of $100 or more a month, and over $500 since he has been doing nothing. On cross-examination, when asked where he got all this money, Moran suggested that he 'might have made some of it smuggling opium while on the police force.' The prosecution insisted on his telling where he got the money, but he refused to answer, saying he could not be forced to incriminate himself. Justice Miller took his decision under advisement.
“He suggested that he 'might have made some of it smuggling opium while on the police force.'”
The intersection of police corruption, the 'side hustles' of public servants, and the volatile nature of Seattle's early banking economy feels uncomfortably modern. Just as 1889 saw a city grappling with the rapid influx of capital and the ethics of those patrolling its streets, the contemporary city continues to struggle with transparency, housing affordability, and the legitimacy of our civic institutions.
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