The Great Tacoma Hack Scandal
A political feud between rival Democratic factions in Tacoma takes an absurd turn when unpaid livery bills surface after a failed mayoral campaign.
A lawsuit is the latest possibility of the Tillicum and 'Oatmeal' split. When Alexander Parker, he of 2 percent fame, was a candidate for mayor something over a year ago, it is said several of the Tillicums—then first brought out by the Post-Intelligencer—made futile attempts to hire horses and hacks for his campaign. Some of the new-born 'oatmeal' politicians also allegedly failed to secure rigs. Then, it is alleged, Mr. Parker approached the liveryman and engaged his best horses and rigs. Now, after losing the mayoral fight and heavily on wagers, Mr. Parker expected the campaign committee to settle the livery bills. But the 'kids' failed him, and the battle between the 'Tillicums' and the 'Oatmeal' contingent was on. When one of the rigs was wrecked, part of its cargo was Stephen O'Brien, the leader of the little Tillicums, and Editor Franklin K. Lane, who lines up somewhere between a Tillicum and an 'oatmeal.' Mr. Parker is absent for one year for his health, making it difficult for lawyers to get service on him in the case.
“When the war horses declared war and then followed suit and organized a Democratic club to neutralize the effect of the Tillicum band, they christened theirs the Cascade Democratic Club.”
This petty squabble highlights the colorful and often cynical nature of late 19th-century machine politics in Washington. While the 'oatmeal' and 'Tillicum' factions have long since vanished, the practice of using political campaigns to build personal debt or settle scores remains a perennial feature of the civic landscape.
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