The Political Feud Dividing Tacoma and Seattle
Pierce County Republicans formally resolve to defeat their own party's gubernatorial nominee, John H. McGraw, as a protest against Seattle's growing influence.
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.
The Republican central committee of Pierce County has placed itself squarely on record as opposed to the head of the Republican state ticket. Mr. McGraw was fairly nominated for governor by a convention representing the Republicans of the entire state, including Pierce County. The Pierce County delegation took part in the proceedings of the convention before and after the nomination of McGraw, and they gave no intimation that they were not prepared to stand loyally by the action of the convention. Their central committee, however, has adopted resolutions directing that all speakers or advocates in behalf of the Republican county ticket be supplied with a copy of these resolutions, and are hereby instructed not to assist in the election of said McGraw, but to use all honorable means for his defeat. The Pierce County Republicans take this action not because McGraw is personally objectionable, but because they regard him as the representative of the interests of Seattle.
“To say that he has been the enemy of Pierce County is to say that every citizen of Seattle is an enemy of Pierce County.”
This 1892 political squabble reflects a long-standing regional rivalry that defined early Washington state politics. The 'canal' mentioned—a proposed link between Lake Washington and Puget Sound—eventually became the Ship Canal, proving that civic infrastructure projects have long been catalysts for deep-seated municipal jealousy.
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