The Ring That Ruled: Whatcom’s Postal War and the Coal Company’s Grip
A furious letter from Blaine exposes how the local post office was hijacked to serve the interests of the coal barons, turning a bureaucratic dispute into a battle for democratic survival.
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.
Whatcom, June 17, 1876.
Dear Sir:
In your issue of June 10th, I read an article in reference to the Whatcom County Mills, to which you seem to have been less informed, and as this is a letter upon which the people of Whatcom tell that their rights have been grossly neglected, I propose to give you a full but true history of the difficulty.
The next and only mill regularly established at this place [Blaine] was located at the town of Whatcom, the county seat of Whatcom County. After some time a person held office in the Blaine side of the bay as deputy postmaster and put in full charge of the office. He, for his own private advantage, saw fit to open and distribute the mails at Blaine. The people of Whatcom remonstrated against this thing.
In the meantime, the postmaster resigned, and the deputy was made postmaster. As a means to prevent the office being returned to its lawful location, a petition was received in Blaine. President Harrison represented the same place, and sought to have the name of the office changed to 'Blaine.' This was the situation at that time; the contract for supplying the office then let; the letter contractors refusing to deliver the mail and the department at Washington seemed disposed to ignore our rights: we formally petitioned to the Post Office Department to establish a post office at the county seat of Whatcom County, and they did so, but failed to make any adequate arrangements to supply the office with the mail. We have applied to all the postal agents in turn, who have generally promised to come and inquire into the matter, but they so far have failed to do their duty.
The main question involved is whether changing the name of an office changes the location also. It would seem that in this case the department has decided that it does.
In your trip to Whatcom and back you make the following remark: 'If forces wasted in jealousy at the Coal Company Clique, or the County Office Clique so called, were spent in a hearty cooperation to develop local interests, etc.' If you think there can be coal company and county office clique I would say, there is but the one, which is composed of the heretofore leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, howled into and controlled by the Coal Company. The proof of the above effect is in the ticket put up and voted for, by R[obert] H[ugh].
At the last general election, the people, becoming fearful of the despotic rule of the coal company ring, put up an independent field and succeeded in electing a majority of the county officers, against the combined efforts of the Republican and Democratic parties. At the next election, we hope and expect to make it a clean sweep.
I am much pleased with the general appearance and tone of your paper, and hope you will meet with the success you deserve.
Yours truly, S. D. Richardson
This 1876 letter reveals an early instance of corporate capture in Washington Territory, where a single industry (coal) allegedly dictated political outcomes and even federal postal logistics. It mirrors modern concerns about how concentrated economic power can skew local governance and infrastructure, leaving residents feeling powerless against a 'ring' that controls both parties.
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