Voters Shoot Down High School Bond
A combination of Populists, skeptical taxpayers, and general voter apathy results in the defeat of a $125,000 high school bond for Capitol Hill.
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.
The propositions to buy two more lots in the block bounded by Thirteenth, Fourteenth, University and Seneca streets, and to incur a debt of $125,000 for the erection of a high school building on the block, were defeated yesterday. A combination of three elements—the Populists, a number of 'soreheads' who were opposed to the purchase for a variety of reasons, and a still larger number of citizens who were really in favor but could not muster up energy enough to vote—caused the failure. The loudest opposition came from the Populists, whose oratory against landlordism and bankers could be heard several blocks from the polling stations. The total vote was only about one-twelfth of the qualified voters. The board of education does not intend to call another election on this matter for at least a year.
“Advocates of education were few, the majority of them staying supinely at home.”
Seattle’s struggle to fund school infrastructure via bond measures is a perennial feature of the city's growth. The specific site mentioned, near 13th and University, remains a dense educational and residential corridor, illustrating the century-long effort to keep public facilities pace with rapid population increases.
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