The Bitter Battle for the Port Orchard Dry Dock
A failed bid for a federal contract triggers a nasty public feud between a powerful contractor and a U.S. Senator.
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.
Nelson Bennett's Ledger and the Tacoma Herald today reek with abuse of Senators Allen and Squire, because Nelson Bennett did not get the Port Orchard dry dock contract. True, his bid was higher than Barlow's, but he received the Pierce county printing contract when his bid was the highest of all. Mr. Bennett holds Senator Allen chiefly responsible for the award of the contract to Barlow, though it was distinctly stated in the advertisement calling for bids that the lowest responsible bidder would be successful. It is a coincidence that Barlow's bid is $9,000 less than Bennett's. The Tacoma Herald's bid for the county printing was $1 less than the Ledger's, but Bennett thinks a trifle like $9,000 should not be considered. Senator Allen lies seriously ill at Spokane; his daughter is at the point of death at Washington City; yet Bennett curses him. The Ledger editorials are scarcely fit for publication. There is no more flagrant prostitution of the government service than this proceedings. To take the malice of a United States senator and his allies against a citizen of this state, the navy department under Secretary Tracy is degraded to the level of the road-side.
“To take the malice of a United States senator and his allies against a citizen of this state, the navy department under Secretary Tracy is degraded to the level of the road-side.”
Public contracting and the 'spoils system' were flashpoints in late 19th-century Pacific Northwest politics. This story perfectly encapsulates the era's tendency to use private newspapers as blunt weapons in public bidding wars, a precursor to modern 'pay-to-play' controversies.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.