The Battle for the Capital: Yakima vs. The Railroads
A fiery local editorial argues that Yakima, not Olympia, should be the state capital to break the corrupt influence of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
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.
No question of equal importance and of such lasting interest has been presented to the people of the state of Washington for their settlement as the permanent location of the capital. The permanent location at Olympia will inflict on the state irreparable injury. Olympia has been fostered by a praetorian guard of public plunderers, aided and abetted by the Northern Pacific Railroad company. This railroad company has throttled the aspirations of the people of Yakima since its advent into the state and since its infamous destruction of Old Yakima in 1886. If you want to reward the infamy of breaking up the old town, vote for Olympia. If you want to keep the capital at a place where corrupt lobbyists can be summoned by telegram to sway state policy, vote for Olympia. North Yakima is not a railroad town; it has the best system of waterworks, electric lights, and the purest water. Vote for North Yakima.
“If you want to perpetuate the Nick Owings ring, continue the same old gang in power at the same old stand and vote for Olympia.”
The fierce rivalry over the location of Washington's capital highlights the immense power railroad monopolies held over frontier towns in the 1880s. The 'destruction of old Yakima' refers to the 1884 move where the Northern Pacific built its depot a few miles away, effectively forcing the business district to relocate or perish, a classic example of corporate land-use power.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.