Democratic Factional War Over Federal Spoils
A bitter internal struggle erupts within the Washington State Democratic Party as committeemen clash over the distribution of federal patronage.
At the Tacoma meeting of the Democratic central committee, what began as a unified effort to craft a 'slate' of appointments for federal offices collapsed into infighting. Factions within the party, including those led by Hugh Wallace and the Tilleum Club, clashed with supporters of Col. Chauncey W. Griggs over who would control the lucrative patronage positions of Collector, U.S. Marshal, District Attorney, and Surveyor General. Many committeemen were accused of seeking these offices for themselves, leading to accusations that the committee had become a 'mutual admiration society.' Ultimately, the committee resolved not to endorse any candidate, leaving the final decision to President Grover Cleveland in Washington D.C., and setting the stage for ongoing factional warfare.
“Each member was a candidate and it was a case of 'You tickle me and I'll tickle you.'”
The Gilded Age practice of 'spoils'—where public offices were treated as personal rewards for party loyalty—famously crashed against the rise of the civil service movement. Today's Seattle politics remains intensely factional, but the battles over agency appointments are far more bureaucratized than this raw 1893 scramble for the keys to the city.
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