The Pulpit vs. The Machine: A Mayor’s Brewing Scandal
A fiery sermon accusing the Mayor of being an attorney for a powerful brewery ignites a political furor, revealing the uneasy intersections of church, commerce, and city hall.
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Sermons delivered by Dr. D. L. Rader at the First Methodist Church regarding Mayor L. D. Campbell's alleged ties to the Pacific Brewing and Malting Company created an unprecedented stir in Tacoma. Dr. Rader suggested the Mayor was a retained attorney for the brewery, an assertion Mayor Campbell vehemently denied, stating his firm only provided title and abstract work. The claim originated from a telephone conversation overheard in the office of S. A. Perkins, where brewery secretary William Virges purportedly confirmed the attorney relationship. Dr. Rader, intending to act as a 'watchman' against corporate influence in city politics, later sought to clarify his position after learning the extent of the Mayor's firm's actual services. The incident highlights the intense scrutiny of the 'liquor interest' in municipal politics at the turn of the century.
“Let your city be run for men, not for money.”
The 1904 tension over corporate influence in local government remains a perennial theme in Tacoma politics. The debate over whether a public servant should be linked to industries like alcohol or real estate development—and the power of 'watchman' figures to force transparency—mirrors contemporary concerns about campaign finance and conflict of interest in local councils.
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