The Price of 'Immorality' in 1891 Seattle
When the city council targeted a saloon keeper for moral failure, the debate exposed deep divisions over class, race, and selective enforcement of the law.
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 special order of business before the house of delegates was the consideration of the health bill, but proceedings turned to the revocation of the license of N. F. Butts, a saloon keeper. A joint resolution from the board of aldermen was passed, citing a report that Butts had 'lured away the wife and 14-year-old daughter of Hans Christiansen' and was maintaining them in rooms over his saloon in Morning Star Alley. The city attorney was instructed to give Butts five days' notice of the council’s intent to revoke his liquor license under ordinances prohibiting 'lewd men and women' from using saloons as a place of resort. Delegate Bagley objected to the resolution, arguing that it was unfair to single out this 'unfortunate negro' while others were equally guilty of similar law-breaking. He suggested that if Butts were white, he would likely escape the penalty. Delegate Willis countered that the action was not about color, but about 'well-known immorality' and noted that while others might be equally guilty, that did not relieve Butts of his responsibility, promising that other cases would be addressed as they were brought to the council’s attention.
“If Butts were white he would probably escape the penalty of his crime of keeping an immoral place.”
This 1891 incident reflects a recurring cycle in Seattle governance where 'law and order' campaigns—often targeting specific neighborhoods or minority-owned businesses—are used to signal moral reform. The tension between Delegate Bagley’s awareness of racial double standards and the council’s desire to sanitize the city mirrors ongoing debates about selective policing and housing stability in Seattle’s rapidly gentrifying urban core.
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