The Governor’s Message and the Territorial Legislature
As the territorial assembly gathers in Olympia, lawmakers debate office furniture and hear the Governor's address—while a member from Yakima keeps his feet on the table.
The Legislature is now fully organized and ready for business. The only matter of interest in the Council was the passage of a joint resolution asking the Secretary to furnish a copy of the Code of Washington to each of the members and clerks. At this juncture Mr. Caton noticed Mr. Owings seated on a step of the President's platform, and made a motion that the Serjeant-at-Arms be instructed to bring in a chair, so that when the Secretary saw fit to come within the Bar he would not have to brush his pants and sit on the carpet. The Governor appeared and read his message, which occupied forty-seven minutes. During the reading of the message the gentleman from Yakima sat with his feet cocked up on his table, greatly to the amusement of a few small boys on the back seats. Whether the gentleman desired to have his feet take in the message, or was attempting to improve the acoustic properties of the Representative chamber, by breaking the sound with them, the writer is unable to state.
“Whether the gentleman desired to have his feet take in the message, or was attempting to improve the acoustic properties of the Representative chamber, by breaking the sound with them, the writer is unable to state.”
While decorum in the state house has certainly evolved since 1883, the fundamental task of the legislature—and the public's amusement at the antics of elected officials—remains a timeless feature of Washington politics. The struggle to secure basic resources like the state code for all members mirrors modern debates over transparency and equitable access to the tools of governance.
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