The Political Fight for the Lake Washington Canal
How a regional rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma defined the 1892 legislative races and the push for federal infrastructure.
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 people of King County should not forget the necessity of electing a solid Republican delegation to the legislature. This is fully as important to the interests of King County as is the election of the Republican state ticket. A Democratic legislature means the election of Chauncey W. Griggs of Tacoma, one of the most bitter of the 'Seattle haters,' to the United States Senate. A Republican legislature means the re-election of John B. Allen, who has shown himself broad-minded enough to deal fairly by all the counties and cities in the state. The Seattle haters in Tacoma have been making a determined assault on the Lake Washington canal, a project they only began to oppose once it appeared likely the government would finally undertake the work. They have attempted to force resolutions against the canal through both Democratic and Republican conventions in Pierce County to sabotage our representative, McGraw, and the project itself.
“The Seattle haters, however, made their presence in Tacoma felt.”
This 1892 report highlights a deep-seated regional rivalry that once saw Tacoma and Seattle openly sabotaging each other's economic infrastructure. While the rivalry has evolved, current debates over transit funding and regional growth show that the tension between King and Pierce counties remains a defining, if less volatile, feature of Washington politics.
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