The Political Knife is Sharpened
A contentious city council election in North Yakima pits the Knights of Labor against incumbent officials, foreshadowing a bitter political autumn.
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.
That much interest was taken in the organization of the new city government was evidenced Monday evening by the big crowd of spectators in attendance. The city marshal’s report allowed 28 arrests for the month of May. The mayor stirred the assembly up to renewed interest by announcing the order of voting. The election of Mr. Henderson was not the result of any especial preference for that gentleman, nor any feeling that he is peculiarly fitted for the office, but rather a combination of forces of those who were opposed to Mr. Cock. A member of the Knights of Labor organization who is thrown out of work by the change of administration says that Councilman Needham, who is also a Knight, will suffer for his action when he comes up for office this fall, and that the labor organization has a very large knife a-grinding for him, and will use it vigorously. Attorney Boyle is out of sorts with the Sons of Veterans because J. M. Newman was sprung up against him. He says the boys only have an existence through the memory of their sires, and yet they will step in and try to down an old veteran for an office that has a monthly salary of $10.
“A member of the Knights of Labor organization ... says that Councilman Needham ... will suffer for his action when he comes up for office this fall, and that the labor organization has a very large knife a-grinding for him.”
This account of local political infighting, labor organization pressure, and backroom deal-making highlights the persistent nature of civic power struggles in Yakima’s history. It mirrors the modern tension between organized labor advocacy and local government decision-making.
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