Tacoma's Richest Taxpayer Warns the Boodlers Are Eating the City
W. H. Fife, the city's largest taxpayer, says boodle government is eating his property alive—and warns Tacoma will fall behind Seattle if the machine is not driven out.
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.
TACOMA, March 9.—Tacoma is sick. The boodlers have stuffed its stomach with unashamed warrants and bonded indebtedness. Tacoma's tongue is coated and its gall bag is full. Its honest sons and daughters have a remedy, but its boodle parasites plot to dash away the restorative. Careful, wise and economic municipal government will in two years set Tacoma on her feet, for Tacoma is strong and has the strength of youth, but two more years of boodlerism and Tacoma will not be in it with Seattle. Seattle, viewed impartially from Tacoma, has a knack of curing a cancer or shaking off a vampire. Tacoma's present crop of boodlers are fatter and bolder than ever before. Why? First—Because the water steal, their greatest undertaking, yielded big returns and no punishment. Second—Because the Republican victories at Seattle and elsewhere have turned their heads and led them to believe that they can cover up the corrupt practices of the past two years and be in line to loot for two years more by simply taking advantage of the popular Republican boom. Boodle prices for city printing, three times greater than are paid at Seattle, cause the ledger to hunger for more boodle. W. H. Fife comes forward with a solution: Let the people give them so many days to reduce expenses and economize, and if they do not do it let the people rise up in their might and drive them out. Mr. Fife is the heaviest individual taxpayer in this city and in this county. His taxes this year aggregate $15,000. The Chamber of Commerce said the expenses of the city government are twice too high, and Mr. Fife says the same thing about taxes, both city and county. Mr. Fife came here with $75,000. He invested every cent of it. As fast as he made money he invested it. Three years ago he was counting on an income of $20,000 a year. Today he said: 'At the present rate my property will be eaten up in taxes and insurance in five years.' Fife's taxes represent 5 per cent on the value of his property. Taxes are twice as high now as they were in boom times. For years Mr. Fife has been the richest property holder in this city or county. Boodle government is crowding him to the wall. He has one vote and $500,000 worth of property. Men paid to work for the city have for weeks been devoting their time to 'running in' and naturalizing several hundred voters to offset the votes of taxpayers like Mr. Fife.
“At the present rate my property will be eaten up in taxes and insurance in five years.”
The 'boodler' language is period slang, but the underlying fight—property taxpayers versus a city hall accused of patronage, inflated contracts and fiscal mismanagement—rhymes with modern arguments over taxes, budgets and public trust. Tacoma's 1894 campaign also shows how corruption becomes an election issue, with the richest taxpayer demanding accountability while warning he is being taxed out of town.
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