The Struggle for Walla Walla's Public Library
A member of the Woman's Reading Club details the 'snags' of local politics, skepticism, and stalled funding that plague the effort to establish a permanent library.
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.
In several of your late issues you have referred to the work of the Woman's Reading Club in connection with a public library building, and as an interested member of the club, I wish to say a few words in explanation of the situation. The club began its work of raising $12,000 very gaily, but it was not long before the soliciting committee began to run against snags—snags of many varieties. There were snags in the shape of bankers and merchants who had no use for public libraries, or else frankly state that they 'have books enough of their own.' Then there were political snags. The Woman's Club did not know it was 'in politics,' but before getting very far, the committee ran full tilt against such problems as this: 'Why we can't do anything for you, if we did and the [rival party] ever get into power, they'll cut off the library tax before you can wink.' Lastly there is the Stubblefield home which has also been a snag in the way of the library work, for many of the business men want to see just what will be done with that proposition before promising anything for the library. In spite of all these unfavorable conditions and also the almost unanimous sentiment existing among business men in favor of the Carnegie library, the committee has about $2500 positively promised. It is up to the people to say whether we shall have our own library building or not.
“The club began its work of raising $12,000 very gaily, but it was not long before the soliciting committee began to run against snags.”
This letter reveals that local infrastructure, even institutions as beloved as libraries, has always been hostage to the same cycle of partisan fear and developer-led uncertainty. Just as the writer laments the wait-and-see attitude toward the Stubblefield site, modern Walla Walla continues to navigate the tension between public utility and private commercial interests.
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