The Palace Coup at the Young Men’s Independent Club
A political faction attempts to seize control of a local club through backroom deals and 'gag rules,' only to be met with a revolt by the membership.
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.
On the seventh day of the present month, an unknown committee issued a call to the young men of Seattle to meet at Yesler’s Hall. The meeting was previously arranged by the few knowing ones, and J. C. Hebbard was nominated as temporary chairman. After the reading of a Committee on Resolutions, Hebbard handed them a set of resolutions prepared by his group, which the committee signed and handed back to their author, who read them. At the next meeting, held at the Court House, speakers attempted to force the members to support, without question, any nominee proposed by the majority. Mr. R. B. Albertson, a lawyer, gave eloquent expression to independent ideas. On Saturday, the Executive Committee met at the Bijou Theater with representatives from the Liquor Dealers' Protective Association to nominate a secret ticket. At a subsequent meeting at the Courthouse, Hebbard and his allies attempted to exclude dissenting members. Mr. W. D. Wood rented the Courthouse and paid for it to ensure fairness. When Hebbard and Dr. Smart attempted to physically block Albertson, a brawl broke out. After the scuffle, the members of the club revolted, left the room, and marched to the corner of Fourth and Marion to form a new organization, the Young Men’s Political Club of Seattle.
“For God's sake let them father their own baby, and not attempt to make us acknowledge it as ours, without seeing the color of its hair.”
This 1884 account captures the familiar Seattle tension between 'machine politics' and independent grassroots organizing. Much like today's local advocacy groups, the club's members were fighting for transparency and against the influence of well-funded, opaque interest groups, proving that the struggle for local civic control has deep roots in our city's founding.
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