The Brutal Reality of the 'Sailor's Home' in 1886
A local reporter exposes the predatory labor practices and 'blood money' schemes targeting sailors in Seattle's waterfront boarding houses.
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.
Captain Perkins of the ship Henry Villard, Captain Hatfield of this city, and a representative of the Post-Intelligencer met in Captain Hatfield’s office recently to discuss the treatment of sailors. The reporter asked what Captain Perkins thought of the existing evil of the so-called 'Sailor's Homes' found in all seaport towns. The Captain answered that he thought the evil was increasing and related many instances of the underhanded advantage taken by the proprietors. They use brute force to compel sailors to patronize them, often employing regular 'sluggers' to whip any who show independence or who refuse to obey them. Immediately upon a sailor's quitting a vessel, he is met by the drummer of one of the 'Homes' in the city and is taken bag and baggage into some hole where poor food, bad whiskey, and vile company are the factors of life. Very often, the sailor is threatened with a sound thumping if he says he will not go with the drummer. When a captain goes to one of these houses for a crew, the first question put by the proprietor is: 'How much blood money do you want?' The usual answer is: 'Two months' advance, captain, at $30 a month.' From this, the proprietor takes what the sailor owes him and pays the balance to Jack—if the debts are honest. Often, they are not, and the boarding house rascal cheats him out of his rightful share.
“When a captain goes to one of these houses for a crew, the first question put by the proprietor of the house is: 'How much blood money do you want?'”
This 1886 report on 'blood money' and the exploitation of vulnerable labor highlights the dark side of maritime history in the Pacific Northwest. Today, Seattle’s waterfront remains a site of labor tension, echoing these older struggles over fair wages, working conditions, and the struggle to protect workers from predatory middlemen.
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