The Day a Witticism Knocked the Stuffing Out of the University Debate
A classic legislative quip in Olympia reveals the intense regional rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma over the location of the Territorial University.
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.
One of the most amusing scenes that has taken place in the House this session, was on last Saturday during the debate on the University bill. Mr. Blackwell, member from New Tacoma, took his seat after making a bitter speech against the measure, when Hon. Joseph Foster, from King, slowly rose from his seat, took a circle like a cooper going around a barrel, and said: 'Mr. Speaker, I wonder what that gentleman's views in regard to this measure would be if the University was located at New Tacoma, instead of at Seattle?' The speaker then slowly took his seat, and the broad grin that came over the faces of the various members demonstrated that this query had knocked the stuffing out of the eloquence of the gentleman from Pierce County.
“I wonder what that gentleman's views in regard to this measure would be if the University was located at New Tacoma, instead of at Seattle?”
The rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma over civic institutions defined early state politics. The 'University' mentioned would eventually become the University of Washington, which stayed in Seattle, forever cementing the city's intellectual and economic trajectory.
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