The Palace Revolt in Pierce County
A vitriolic account of a secret meeting held by Republican party bolters in Tacoma.
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 and his two dozen followers held a secret meeting today to plot a mutiny against the Republican county convention. The report alleges that Bennett and his 'traitors' spent the weekend organizing a house-to-house effort to intimidate party members, even allegedly hiring Democratic operatives to pack local precincts in favor of their slate. The article characterizes Bennett’s movement as a desperate attempt at 'rule or ruin,' claiming that the group represents only themselves and their own financial interests rather than the Republican party of Pierce County.
“These bolters are suspicious. They are continually looking for daggers and traitors.”
This is a classic example of local political machine infighting, characteristic of the rapid, often corrupt, growth of Tacoma during the 1890s. It captures the raw, factional nature of urban political contests that still animate city hall politics today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.