The Capitol That Couldn't Be Built
After two failed attempts at financing, the state's third try at bonding the capitol building heads to the Supreme Court.
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.
OLYMPIA.—Plans that will be perfected at a further meeting were initiated by the State Capitol Commission for the adjudication in the Supreme Court of the $4,000,000 bond issue authorized by the recent legislature for capitol building purposes. The legislature authorized a $4,000,000 issue, to draw not more than 5 per cent, and to be secured by the capitol land grant. The state finance board will submit a formal offer for the bonds, although the state will not carry the issue. State Auditor C. W. Clausen will refuse to draw the warrants and the mandamus test case will be filed in the Supreme Court. This is the third capitol bond issue authorized, the two previous issues having been held invalid. The first issue, which was against the general fund, was declared unconstitutional. The second met a similar fate because, although the principal was against the state land grant, the general fund was liable for the interest. The third issue now authorized makes the state land grant liable for both principal and interest.
“This is the third capitol bond issue authorized, the two previous issues having been held invalid.”
Building the capitol in Olympia was a long, protracted struggle with legal and financial hurdles that feel surprisingly familiar to modern debates over public infrastructure funding and constitutional limitations.
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