Gambling over God: A Seattle Moral Crisis in 1878
A local editor wrestles with a report claiming Seattle's 'cosmopolitan' nature had left its churches empty while its poker tables stayed crowded.
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.
The impression among many of our citizens is that Seattle, on account of its cosmopolitan population, is much more immoral than any of the older communities. An Indianapolis paper says: 'Churches are numerous and the pulpits are supplied with divines whose theological lore is in keeping with the times. Yet these places of worship are very poorly attended, and while the ministers are wasting their week's work on a few meek and lowly followers of the cross, whole armies of young men and old men are whiling away their existence playing draw poker. Investigation would develop the fact that for each man who regularly sits under the droppings of the sanctuary, ten sit at a poker table.'
“For each man who regularly sits under the droppings of the sanctuary, ten sit at a poker table.”
The anxiety over Seattle’s 'cosmopolitan' character and declining church attendance echoes current debates about the city's rapidly evolving culture and the decline of traditional civic institutions. Even in 1878, Seattle was grappling with the tension between its reputation as a booming, secular frontier port and the traditional moral frameworks of the established clergy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.