The Chamber of Commerce 'Dead' After Political Feud
Port Townsend's business leaders dissolve their Chamber of Commerce in a radical move to stop members from using the institution as a political weapon against Seattle.
The Chamber of Commerce, when the resolution was introduced by William F. Rupert protesting against the canal appropriations, is a corpse. The chamber will, however, in a few days be revived under entirely new management. The source of the present trouble is that the chamber was allowed to fall under the control of a few Democrats who have manipulated that institution in such a manner as to make political capital. It appears to have been the object to send protests to Washington opposing any extension of appropriations in the Senate for the state of Washington, thereby holding the Republican Senate responsible for neglecting to properly protect Puget Sound. The prominent people of Port Townsend regret the necessity of disorganizing the Chamber of Commerce, and some of them deplore the fact on the ground that it would injure the city in the eye of the state at large. The emergency of the occasion demanded resolute and prompt action, and the easiest method to accomplish the desired end was to disorganize and reincorporate.
“The Chamber of Commerce... is a corpse. The chamber will, however, in a few days be revived under entirely new management.”
Inter-city rivalry over infrastructure funding remains a hallmark of Pacific Northwest politics. Just as Port Townsend’s business elite fought over the Lake Washington canal in 1892, modern regional debates over transit and port funding often expose the tensions between Puget Sound’s various municipal centers.
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