The Shadow of Graft on Seattle's Armory
A high-stakes bribery scandal reaches the halls of power as a prominent board member is arrested over city land dealings.
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.
Gen. Alex Shaler was arrested last night, charged with having accepted a bribe to influence his vote as a member of the Armory Board in connection with the purchase of militia armory sites in this city. He was taken to the office of the Recorder this morning. Mayor Franklin Elson, also a member of the board, was present. The City Attorney would not accept Mr. [name redacted/unclear] as he had no real estate in the issue. A consultation took place between the counsel and Gen. Shaler, when one of the lawyers said that Shaler would waive examination. Recorder [name unclear] then placed his bail at $10,000. In questioning as to whether he had anything to say as to the charges, Gen. Shaler wrote, under advice of his counsel, 'I reserve whatever I have to say for my trial, except to emphatically declare my innocence.' It was nearly noon when Gustav Schwab, agent for the North German Lloyd Steamship Company, arrived and signed his bond and the prisoner was released. Gen. Shaler sat up all night at police headquarters in company with his two sons-in-law. The grand jury will investigate tomorrow.
“I reserve whatever I have to say for my trial, except to emphatically declare my innocence.”
Long before Seattle’s modern struggles with developer influence and land-use scandals, the city was grappling with the same questions of civic corruption. This 1885 arrest echoes current-day concerns about how closely the interests of private agents and public boards are intertwined when it comes to the city's most valuable real estate.
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