The Fight for Walla Walla’s Trade
Seattle and Portland wholesalers clash over freight schedules in a battle to control the lucrative Walla Walla market.
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Northern Pacific officials have taken up the question of train service between Seattle and Walla Walla and will endeavor to improve current schedules to give Seattle wholesalers a better opportunity to compete for the eastern Washington trade. There is a sharp difference of opinion between railroad officials and jobbers regarding the control of the local market. Railroad men insist that Portland has no inherent advantage over Puget Sound cities, and that the long-standing dominance of Portland merchants is due to their established relationships with Walla Walla traders rather than train speeds. While rail officials are willing to expedite freight to help Seattle, they acknowledge that quick delivery alone may not be enough to break the deep-seated friendships between local merchants and their Portland suppliers.
“Portland has controlled the trade of eastern Washington from the time Walla Walla was a trading post and the merchants doing business in that city have come to regard Portland jobbers as their particular friends.”
Logistics and trade corridors have defined Walla Walla’s economy for over a century. The competition described here between Seattle and Portland mirrors the modern tension of Walla Walla’s regional identity, caught between the influences of metropolitan centers while maintaining its own distinct economic character.
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