The Machine Smashed: Walla Walla Rejects Levi Ankeny
In a local municipal election, the political machine of U.S. Senator Levi Ankeny is soundly defeated by an anti-machine coalition, signaling a shift in county influence.
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.
Walla Walla, the home of Levi Ankeny, has set the seal of disapproval upon the political methods of the senator. In the city election last Monday, the Ankeny machine was so badly smashed that it is doubtful it can be put in working order again. Gilbert Hunt, the Ankeny candidate for mayor, won by only 15 votes, and J. Z. Smith was elected to the city council by 4 votes. All other Ankeny candidates went down to defeat. The most significant feature was the overwhelming defeat of Frank Kees for city marshal, who ran 323 votes behind his opponent. Kees was a member of the last legislature and nominated Levi Ankeny for senator; his repudiation of the party platform plank for a railroad commission was likely the main factor in his downfall. This experience should serve as a warning to other political 'repudiators' across the state.
“The Ankeny machine was so badly smashed that it is very doubtful if it can be put to working order again.”
This event captures the volatile nature of early 20th-century Washington politics, where railroad regulation was the primary wedge issue. It serves as a reminder that local municipal elections were frequently used as testing grounds for the viability of state-level political bosses and their monopolies.
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