Plot to Oust Mayor Ronald Thwarted by Public Exposure
A suspected conspiracy among gamblers and city officials to force Mayor Ronald from office has been dissipated by recent press investigation.
The air was blue yesterday with denials on the part of all associated by rumor with the plot to drive Mayor Ronald from office by means of impeachment or indictment or by scaring him into resignation. The result of the exposure is to dissipate the plans, and it is not an easy matter to discriminate between those who are genuinely indignant at being made tools of by the gamblers and those who have been really instigating the plot. Alderman Miller, who has been most persistently used to effect the purposes of the gamblers, denies that he was ever present at any meeting at which Ronald's resignation or removal was discussed. The fact remains, however, that he has in the past proven himself the willing tool of the gamblers and it is generally believed he stands ready to aid them now. Dr. J. P. Kloeber admits that he believes there was some such movement on foot, but denies that he took any part in it.
“The air was blue yesterday with denials on the part of all associated by rumor with the plot to drive Mayor Ronald from office.”
Local political tensions in 1890s Seattle were often defined by the power struggle between municipal governance and the protected underworld of gambling. This incident highlights how 'moral' crusades were often weaponized by rivals to force political turnover.
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