The Alderman Who Wanted the $600 Job
Leander Miller led the fight against John G. Scurry’s confirmation to the board of public works—because Miller wanted the seat himself.
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 opposition to John G. Scurry, whose confirmation for member of the board of public works will be voted on Monday evening, continues to be the talk of the hour around the city hall, and a new phase was placed on the attitude of his opponents by the report that Alderman Leander Miller, who is understood to lead the opposition, is himself a candidate for the position.
Rumor says that the opposition of Miller and others to the appointment was not based upon personal grounds nor occasioned by the memory of past antagonisms; the place is wanted by another man. It is also said that the scalp of City Engineer Thompson is not sought by the “boodle” contingent of the Democratic party; that their apparently unfavorable attitude toward him is merely assumed to deceive the public as to the real causes of the fight. Thus, it is argued that if Mr. Scurry fails of confirmation Mayor Phelps will call on the aldermen and demand: “Well, who under the sun do you people want, anyway?” To which the Miller faction of the board will promptly reply: “Leander Miller, of course! He is the only man who really deserves the office. His long and faithful service to the city as president of the board of aldermen makes him an eligible candidate and he should be nominated. Times are hard now and he needs a job with a good salary. He is deriving a good deal of glory from his present position as president of our honorable body, but glory is all he gets. The salary of $600 a year is insufficient and he wants a more lucrative job; wherefore we ask that he be nominated and—we will do the rest.”
Mr. Miller could not be found last evening, and consequently no one questioned the authenticity of the rumor of his candidacy. Some of those who have followed Mr. Miller’s course closely say that the rumor that he is a candidate may be doing him an injustice, but it is the most reasonable explanation of his persistent opposition to the several other candidates for the same position. Mr. Miller was asked some time since if he were not a candidate and he evasively replied that he did not believe the mayor would appoint him.
“Times are hard now and he needs a job with a good salary.”
Patronage fights over city jobs are as old as Seattle itself. The $600 salary Miller coveted is a reminder that city hall was once a place where a modest public paycheck mattered enormously—and where reform and self-interest were hard to separate.
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