Political Deadlock and Dirty Tricks in Olympia
Accusations of corporate puppetry fly in the Washington State Legislature as the battle for the U.S. Senate seat intensifies.
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 manifesto issued by Judge Turner is regarded as an absurd attempt to deflect from his reliance on Northern Pacific Railroad agents. Turner insists the corporation is fighting him, yet it is notorious that Northern Pacific lieutenants are conducting his campaign. The declaration has excited only laughter, as it is understood that the Turner letter was inspired by Col. Nick Owings, a trusted agent of the railroad. Meanwhile, anti-corporation men like Speaker Arrasmith support Senator Allen. In a separate development, the Senate unanimously passed the anti-Pinkerton bill over Acting Gov. Laughton's veto, seeking to ban private, armed corporate guards.
“To discover that a representative or senator in this legislature is a corporation man is to learn that he is a Turner advocate.”
The Gilded Age politics of 1893 Washington involved heavy railroad influence on legislative elections, a precursor to the direct election of senators. The 'anti-Pinkerton' legislation mentioned reflects the era's deep-seated conflict between private capital and the growing demand for state regulation of labor policing.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.