The Press War Over Official Corruption
A biting editorial battle between the Post-Intelligencer and the Seattle Chronicle over allegations of graft and the conduct of local officials.
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.
Our morning contemporary has been publishing 'a red hot paper' of late. That is, it has been slashing right and left with the idea of creating a sensation and popularizing itself. It opened with the school lands grab, and raved over the matter with a result so far of absolutely nothing. It next opened upon City Attorney Osborne, and reiterated proofless charges until its few readers begged it to let up. The result in this case was also nothing. The last 'red hot' attempts were made on Justice Cann. It made charges against that official that if untrue were libelous beyond anything ever put in print in the Territory of Washington. An investigating committee was appointed by the City Council, and we are assured that when they called for the proofs, they were told the paper had none. The Grand Jury also took cognizance of them, and in pretty plain words condemns the Chronicle for its malicious, meddling officiousness, and virtually calls upon Justice Cann to establish his truthfulness by prosecuting that sheet for libel.
“It made charges against that official that if untrue were libelous beyond anything ever put in print in the Territory of Washington.”
The vitriolic exchange between local papers regarding the perceived ethics of public officials reflects the long-standing role of the press in Seattle's governance. This 1883 dispute over 'proofless charges' versus accountability mirrors the modern tension between investigative journalism and the degradation of political discourse.
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