The Walla Walla Election Shakeup
Local 'Boxer' faction deals a major blow to the Ankeny railroad machine in municipal vote.
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.
The result of the Walla Walla city election is undoubtedly a terrible blow to the Ankeny machine throughout the state, and it may prove fatal to the plans of the Ankeny-Stevenson railroad combination for the control of next year's state convention against Governor McBride and his commission bill. Every daily paper in the Northwest yesterday heralded under glaring headlines the defeat of the Ankeny forces by the Boxers in Senator Ankeny's home town. The Oregonian story is headed, 'Shook to Ankeny. Boxers Administer Blow to Walla Walla Machine. Senator Narrowly Escapes a Rout in His Home City.' The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has the headlines, 'Ankeny Men Meet Defeat. Forces Demoralized in Walla Walla Election. Rebuke to Machine.' The Spokesman-Review headlines say, 'Nearly Routed Ankeny Forces. Boxer Candidate for Marshal Wins by 358. Blow for Ankeny Men. Result Is Regarded as a Protest Against the Ankeny Methods in Municipal Politics.' The Tacoma Ledger has it, 'Ankeny Machine Receives Hard Blow. Municipal Election in Walla Walla Results in Victory for the Boxers.'
“Result is regarded as a protest against the Ankeny methods in municipal politics.”
In 1903, the 'Boxers' were a grassroots reform faction attempting to wrest political control from the railroad-backed Ankeny machine. Today, Walla Walla residents still grapple with the legacy of concentrated corporate influence over local policy, mirroring the era's fight for a railroad commission.
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