The Unsavory Political Machine of 1888
A scorching editorial from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer calls for a purge of 'tricksters' and 'nasty fellows' within the Territorial Republican ranks.
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.
If the Republican party is to prosper in the Territory, it must spew out all such unsavory material as S. H. A pretended Republican who can command an administrative office under a Democratic administration, a trickster in the dirtiest methods of political management, and a ready promoter of every legislative scheme that 'has a stomach in it,' a nasty and despicable fellow in every phase of political unmanliness—this is the sort of man that aspires to lead the Republican party of Washington Territory. It is worse than useless to attempt to temporize or compromise with such a man. Let him be turned over to the Democrats, with whom he agrees and to whom he belongs.
“It is worse than useless to attempt to temporize or compromise with such a man. Let him be turned over to the Democrats, with whom he agrees and to whom he belongs.”
While party names and specific grievances have shifted, the 1888 demand for ideological purity and the rejection of 'political tricksters' resonates deeply with modern political polarization. The language of the era reveals that local infighting regarding 'managed' party offices was just as vitriolic in the late 19th century as it is in our current era of legislative gridlock.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.