The 1877 Argument to Run Seattle Like a Corporation

The property accruing from a man's labor is his own, and he is entitled to its exclusive control and management, provided he does not insult the equal rights of others. The enjoyment of these rights is subject to the payment of a tax to the State in return for its protection. The only purpose the State can have in creating a corporation is to promote the interest and welfare of all its members without favor. Hence, the State has provided—with the solitary exception of municipal corporations—that stockholders shall exert power in the election of managers proportionate to their respective interests. It will scarcely be disputed that a municipality is essentially a moneyed corporation rather than a political community. It logically follows that a city government should be modeled after other corporations instead of the State. To authorize a majority of persons to spend the money of the minority for any purpose in their own discretion is virtually to annul the right to private property. We must retrace our steps and place ourselves in harmony with natural laws, with which we are now waging a futile and disastrous war.