Populist 'Patriots' Take Over Turner Hall
A political meeting meant to organize a 'patriot army' dissolves into a heated session of Populist rhetoric, leaving the organizers to scramble for an apology.
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A public meeting at Turner Hall, supposedly intended to organize a league of patriots to uphold the law, transformed into a rowdy Populist rally. The organizers had already assumed impressive titles, such as 'commander-in-chief' and 'adjutant general.' However, the audience—mostly Populists—took control of the proceedings. Speakers like P.P. Carroll attacked the government and the Post-Intelligencer. When H.P. Hess, a state organizer for the Farmers' Alliance, was called to the platform, he delivered an inflammatory speech, declaring that seven regiments of farmers were already armed and ready for action. Chairman James W. Young struggled to keep the meeting on track, eventually having to apologize for the incendiary language used by the speakers. Despite the rhetoric of law and order, the night concluded with the announcement of a women's auxiliary dance, highlighting the chaotic blend of politics and social life in 1890s Seattle.
“Well, you knew what to expect when you called for Hess, and you got it.”
This meeting highlights the volatile Populist movement in 1890s Washington, a period when rural and urban frustration over corporate power often manifested in grand, sometimes eccentric, political theater. The tension between the 'official' agenda and the radicalizing base is a familiar story in grassroots political organizing.
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