Spokane County Finds Eastern Capital Eager for Western Bonds
Local treasurer George Mudgett returns from Chicago with a successful deal, signaling a shifting tide in regional investment.
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.
George Mudgett, treasurer of Spokane County, accompanied by Mrs. Mudgett, was in Walla Walla yesterday visiting Mrs. Lena Miller of Division street and A. M. Robinson, a prominent farmer of the Dry Creek neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Mudgett have just returned from a short trip to Chicago where Treasurer Mudgett succeeded in placing $300,000 of Spokane County's bonds at 4.5 percent interest per annum, replacing 20-year bonds bearing 6 percent interest. Mr. Mudgett expressed himself well pleased at the success of the trip. 'I had no difficulty in placing the bonds at 4.5 percent interest and it would have been an easy matter to have placed twice the amount,' he said. 'Eastern capital is eager for western bonds as is evidenced by Spokane County being able to place a big issue at a low rate of interest. There is any quantity of capital waiting for western investments—a remarkable condition of affairs compared to a few years ago.'
“There is any quantity of capital waiting for western investments—a remarkable condition of affairs compared to a few years ago.”
In 1903, the Pacific Northwest was transitionally hungry for the East Coast's surplus capital, signaling the region's integration into the national financial machine. Today, that power dynamic has flipped, with Walla Walla and the broader region often finding themselves grappling with the consequences of out-of-state capital flowing into the local real estate and housing markets.
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