The South Tacoma Campaign Rally
Republican candidates for city office tout fiscal management, lower indebtedness, and a 'purified' city during a South Tacoma gathering.
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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.
Six speakers addressed an audience at the pavilion in South Tacoma last night. J. B. Lingerman, candidate for the Republican nomination for the legislature, presided. L. G. Jackson presented statistics on city finances, claiming that surplus moneys invested in bonds and school warrants had reduced city indebtedness by $255,000 in four years. S. A. Soult expressed his bid for councilman from the Sixth ward. The program included a performance by a local glee club. Hon. F. A. Luse criticized Mayor Louis D. Campbell's management and the prevalence of slot machines, calling them the 'kindergarten of hell.' Other speakers, including Louis F. Hart and Stanton Warburton, defended the administration's record, emphasizing a purified city and ethical governance.
“Not one dollar of legitimate business is ever brought to a city by licentiousness or vice.”
City hall elections in early 20th-century Tacoma were deeply tied to the morality of the local economy, specifically the debate over 'vice' versus 'legitimate business.' This preoccupation with municipal finance and moral 'purification' mirrors modern civic debates in Tacoma regarding how to handle public funds and urban development.
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