The Battle for the City's Official Voice
Seattle's Board of Aldermen spark controversy as they award city printing contracts amid allegations of collusion and financial favoritism.
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 suit of the Seattle Publishing Company against the board of aldermen to enjoin them from naming the Telegraph as the official city newspaper was dismissed by Judge Langley on the plaintiff's own motion. Despite the dismissal, the rumors on the street persisted that the Telegraph would be consolidated with the Post-Intelligencer. At the meeting of the board of aldermen last night, a resolution was passed formally designating the Telegraph as the official paper by a vote of four to three. Alderman Ingram noted he would have voted for the Post-Intelligencer, but the paper had editorially declared it would not be justified in accepting the contract under the circumstances. The aldermen filed answers in the superior court admitting that the cost of city printing if done by the Telegraph would be much greater than if done by the Post-Intelligencer, yet they maintained their choice was made without fraud, conspiracy, or collusion.
“The aldermen... admit that the cost of the city printing if done by the Telegraph will be much greater than if done by the Post-Intelligencer.”
The struggle over 'official' city newspapers represents the era's reliance on print media for civic transparency. Today, the debate has shifted to digital platforms and public access, but the underlying concern—who controls the flow of city information and who profits from it—remains as vital to local politics as it was in 1893.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.