The Politics of the 'Money Cow'
Republican firebrands tour Eastern Washington to combat Populist influence and secure support for John H. McGraw.
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At a crowded meeting in Pullman, John H. McGraw and Col. Patrick Henry Winston addressed a large gathering, seeking to reclaim Republicans who had drifted toward the People's party. Winston, known for his unanswerable arguments, poked fun at the Democratic-Populist coalition. He told a story of a pioneer in Texas who tried to save his cow during a harsh winter by hoping she would 'suck herself,' illustrating the economic fallacies he attributed to the People's party. McGraw, in his own speech, framed the proposed ship canal as a project of national importance dating back to 1861, rather than a local King County ambition. The crowd, energized by torchlight parades and firecrackers, cheered the candidates as they hit their stride in the campaign for the Washington state ticket.
“The People's party believe too sincerely in their money cow to pool issues with the Democrats.”
The rhetoric here reflects a era when politicians used vivid, if insulting, folk metaphors to explain economic policy. The tension between local infrastructure needs—like the ship canal—and the broader 'money' questions facing voters remains a persistent theme in Washington civic life.
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