The Shadow Government of the Rails
Speculation mounts over whether the new Northern Pacific president will continue the company's heavy-handed influence on state politics.
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 recent election of Howard Elliott as president of the Northern Pacific may have an important bearing on Washington politics. While there is still some discussion as to whether the Hill interests control the Northern Pacific stock, the election of Elliott as president may be taken as a very reliable indication that Jim Hill will dictate the management of the road. It is generally understood that the political bureau of the railroads will be reshaped. In the past, the manifold activities of the paid railroad lobby has been very offensive to the people of the state, not so much because they were active in opposing legislation, but because they declined to permit any kind of legislation until it had received the approval of the lobby leaders.
“In the past, the manifold activities of the paid railroad lobby has been very offensive to the people of the state.”
The Gilded Age struggle between corporate power and civic governance in Washington state was defined by the influence of railroad magnates like James J. Hill. This piece reflects a transition point where railroad lobbyists attempted to clean up their public image while maintaining their grip on the state legislature—a struggle that echoes in modern debates over corporate lobbying in Olympia.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.