A Populist Call to Build the Ship Canal
A citizen offers a radical proposal to jump-start the construction of the Seattle Ship Canal through volunteer labor and public subscription.
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E. P. Tremper has issued a call for Seattle citizens to bypass the 'sleepy' government and build the proposed ship canal through manual labor and private donation. Tremper suggests that if 10,000 citizens contribute $10 each and volunteer their time to shovel dirt, the project could be initiated immediately, creating jobs for the needy and signaling to the world that Seattle possesses true public spirit. He argues that by reviving the spirit of civic sacrifice seen in historical European precedents, the city could prove its worthiness to the federal government, which might eventually reimburse the city for the construction costs. Tremper concludes that the project would serve as a powerful statement of Seattle's ambition to become the commercial center of the Pacific.
“Let us be men and not sheep, and if we can't control, let's at least be on a respectable footing with Destiny.”
Tremper’s impassioned plea for a 'can-do' civic spirit in the face of economic 'hard times' echoes contemporary debates about public infrastructure funding and the role of grassroots activism versus federal government intervention in massive local projects.
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