The Fight Over Who Can Own Washington Land
A 1914 ballot measure proposed strict limits on alien land ownership, sparking a debate on residency, citizenship, and the future of the state's natural resources.
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.
An amendment of section 33, article 2 of the state constitution, enabling alien residents of this state to acquire by purchase and hold lands within municipal corporations, and providing for the escheat of such land to the common school fund in case the owner thereof becomes a non-resident of the state for a term of five years. The ownership of lands by aliens, other than those who in good faith have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, is prohibited in this state, except where acquired by inheritance under mortgage or in good faith in the ordinary course of justice in the collection of debts. Every corporation, the majority of the capital stock of which is owned by aliens, shall be considered an alien for the purpose of the prohibition. Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to conveyance of lands lying wholly within the limits of municipal corporations when made to resident aliens.
“The ownership of lands by aliens, other than those who in good faith have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, is prohibited in this state.”
This 1914 constitutional amendment reflects the long history of exclusionary land-ownership policies in Washington. Much like today's intense debates surrounding foreign investment in agricultural land and real estate, this era wrestled with the tension between economic growth and national identity through strict legal prohibitions.
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