The Political Fight for State Institutions
North Yakima's newspaper distances itself from local representative Cleman's legislative maneuvers while holding out for the capital.
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.
We perceive by the Post-Intelligencer that Representative Cleman has introduced two bills—one locating an agricultural college at Yakima and the other the state normal school at North Yakima. As our friends in Kittitas, Whitman and Lincoln counties are bidding for the same institutions, we assure those counties that the 'bills' of Mr. Cleman are the result of his own wisdom, and not in response to the expressed wish of his constituency. We have been an open, avowed, honest aspirant for the state capital. As for ourselves, we have said and do say that we would be perfectly satisfied with the permanent location of the state university at North Yakima, and withdraw from the capital contest if the consent of our friends could be obtained. But we are not in the market of the legislature; we do not wish to be understood as trading or selling our position.
“We are not, however, in the markets of the legislature. We are not seeking an opportunity to trade or sell.”
The fierce lobbying by 19th-century Washington towns to secure state institutions—colleges, asylums, or the capital—shaped the geography of the modern state. This editorial reflects a time when a city's status was tied directly to its ability to win government prizes, a precursor to modern economic development and infrastructure competition.
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