The Muddy Reputation of Walla Walla
A visiting eastern capitalist vows never to return after enduring the city's 'abominable' streets, sparking a local debate on infrastructure and civic pride.
A few days ago, a capitalist from an eastern city visited Walla Walla with a view to the establishment of a large manufacturing industry. After spending one day and night here taking enforced mud baths, he left the city in disgust, uttering imprecations on the slimy crosswalks and miry streets. 'You might have a splendid town here,' he remarked to a local business man, 'but I will confess that the first glance I got of your neglected streets, knee-deep in mud even in the heart of the business district, convinced me that your citizens lack the public spirit so essential to a city's growth. You cannot expect capitalists from the eastern states to select as a field for investment a city so lacking in pride as to leave her streets in such an abominable condition. Nobody wants to invest his money in a mud hole.' This censure was perhaps too severe, but it is not wholly undeserved. While Walla Walla has an abundance of rock in the vicinity, the city has failed to pave or macadamize, falling behind smaller towns like Colfax and North Yakima. If Walla Walla wishes to be regarded as more than a lug, overgrown, dirty town, she must shed her muddy clothes and assume the habiliments of a modern city.
“Nobody wants to invest his money in a mud hole.”
This 1903 editorial highlights the timeless struggle between the desire for rapid development and the slow pace of infrastructure investment. Just as this businessman complained about the 'muck' of early Walla Walla, modern cities continue to grapple with the tension between attracting outside capital and maintaining the basic public amenities residents require.
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