The Senator and the Boomer
Senator Frye recounts a colorful anecdote about Spokane Falls, gambling, and the ruthless competition between Washington cities.
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.
Senator Frye stepped in to shake hands with the club a few evenings ago. The conversation naturally turned on home industry, whereat the senator, who is the prince of story tellers, remarked: 'I was in Washington at Spokane Falls last year, and was entertained by one of the local boomers. He was a patriarchal old fellow with a long beard, who looked like a deacon and was worth five or six million dollars. He took me out to drive behind a fine pair of horses and showed me the town. One of the objects that attracted my attention was a very long building—a tremendous affair, one of the longest buildings I ever saw in my life. "How many gambling games do you suppose there are in that building?" asked my friend, the patriarch. "Give it up," said I. "Thirty-nine of them," said he, in a triumphant tone. "Gracious!" said I. "And how many bars?" "Thirty-nine." "Now look here, my friend," said I, "you must destroy that thing, or it will destroy you." "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Mean? I mean that you ought to drive it out of town." "Good God, senator," said he, "if we lose it Tacoma will get it!"'
“Good God, senator, if we lose it Tacoma will get it!”
This anecdote perfectly captures the 'growth machine' mentality that defined Washington territory. While modern Yakima and Spokane compete through economic development and urban planning, the late 19th-century fear of losing 'vice' revenue to a rival city like Tacoma highlights the desperate boosterism of the era.
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