The Corruption of the College Location
North Yakima residents fume over the 'corrupt' decision to place the state agricultural college in Pullman rather than the Yakima Valley.
The commission that has had the location of the agricultural college under consideration for the past month has made its decision. The commission itself does not even pretend that this decision was made upon the merits of the towns contending for the prize. Smith, of Tacoma, voted for North Yakima. Doctor Conover voted for Pullman, but said he would rather have had two fingers cut off his right hand than to have voted against North Yakima. Black has often expressed himself in a manner which could only mean that he thought North Yakima was the place to locate this school; yet he voted for Pullman. All the indications are that the decision was brought about by influence of the most corrupt sort, and such is the opinion of all the disinterested persons who have given the matter thought.
“All the indications are that the decision was brought about by influence of the most corrupt sort.”
The fierce civic competition to host Washington State University (founded as the Agricultural College) reveals that even in the 1890s, the state's growth was dictated by intense lobbying and regional rivalry. Today, Yakima's relationship with higher education remains a subject of civic debate, mirroring the town's historical efforts to capture state-funded institutions.
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