Democratic Torchlight Parade Challenges Republican Rule in Yakima
Hundreds of supporters defied rainy weather in a massive display of local political energy as the gubernatorial campaign heated up.
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.
Saturday was a red-letter day for the democracy of Yakima. Early in the morning, the Roslyn band arrived and soon the badges of the H.J. Snively democratic club were seen on the lapels of hundreds of coats. This was not all, for many republicans and members of the people's party also wore the badges. As the west bound train arrived, Hon. Chas. S. Voorhees, the speaker of the evening, was greeted by a great crowd. Despite rain, a procession formed that was without question the greatest that ever paraded the streets of Yakima. Over three hundred torches were in line, and the Roslyn and Yakima bands provided music. A striking feature of the parade was the company of eighty cavalrymen under command of Capt. John A. Stone. Following the march, the opera house was packed to hear Voorhees speak on the failures of the Republican administration, focusing on legislative scandals, the vetoing of railroad fencing bills, and the suppression of labor protections.
“The multitude is patient to a certain point, but woe betide the dead pies of improvidence, extravagance and inequality, who sue to the people for favors when such a point is reached.”
Yakima has a long history of intense, theatrical civic engagement. While the 'torchlight' parades of the 1890s are now largely replaced by digital discourse, the underlying frustration with 'corporate atmosphere' in politics remains a potent and recurring theme in the region's civic arguments.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.