Militia Planning Without State Support
With the legislature cutting military funding, Seattle’s citizen soldiers look for creative ways to maintain their training.
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.
While it is believed that the military fund raised by law in the two years 1893 and 1894 will be about $120,000, the legislature which has just adjourned appropriated but $80,000 in the general military law. The effect of this is almost certain to be that no state camp will be held this year. This being the case, the Seattle companies are already beginning to discuss and consider the doing of the next best thing: the plan of extemporizing a camp somewhere between here and Tacoma, to which detachments of militia from both cities should march and rendezvous. This spirit of going ahead and doing the best possible under the circumstances without waiting for state aid is one that cannot be too highly commended in the guard. It teaches independence and self-reliance, the best thing the guard can learn.
“This spirit of going ahead and doing the best possible under the circumstances without waiting for state aid is one that cannot be too highly commended.”
This reflects a classic Washington state struggle: local organizations pivoting to make up for budget gaps caused by the state legislature. The improvisation of 'citizen-led' infrastructure remains a persistent theme in regional civic life.
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