The Unstoppable 'Brass and Cheek' of Early Seattle
A Tacoma newspaper begrudgingly acknowledges the aggressive boosterism driving Seattle’s rapid growth.
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.
Say what you may of Seattle, her people are thoroughly in earnest in their efforts to make their city the leading metropolis of Puget Sound. They have energy, perseverance, and industry, besides plenty of 'brass' and 'cheek.' A Seattle man in his conversation reminds one of the early Chicagoans, who never missed the opportunity to declaim on the present greatness and future grandeur of their city. But it is not all talk either, as has been evinced by the success of their $500,000 subscription to a railroad project recently, and by the readiness of the people to take hold liberally and energetically in the prosecution of various works of public interest.
“Say what you may of Seattle, her people are thoroughly in earnest in their efforts to make their city the leading metropolis of Puget Sound.”
The 'growth machine' mentality described here—a mixture of intense civic pride, aggressive speculation, and railroad-chasing—remains the template for Seattle’s development narrative. Even in 1883, the rivalry between Tacoma and Seattle was already defined by competing claims over who would become the dominant hub of the Sound.
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