Tacoma Tries to Halt the State Capitol
Tacoma's Chamber of Commerce calls Olympia's new capitol a waste in hard times, but lawmakers vote down a bill to stop the work.
TACOMA, Feb. 20.—Special.—At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce this afternoon the following resolution was introduced by R. U. Hudson and passed: "Resolved, That it is the sense of the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce that it is unwise, and will necessarily result in great loss, to continue the construction of the capitol building now in course of erection at Olympia; and we therefore urge the legislature to enact a law which will suspend the construction of said building until more prosperous times than the present, and until the value of the lands donated by the general government for this purpose shall have been more accurately and fully ascertained."
OLYMPIA, Feb. 20.—Special.—A bitter fight was made over a motion to commit Taylor's bill to stop work on the new building. Different members labored in the oratorical line, and the Secretary of State supported the capitol construction by vigorously opposing Taylor's bill in a warm speech. The measure was defeated, and the vote was followed by enthusiastic cheers from the new-capital people. The vote stood 28 to 23 against Taylor's bill.
“It is unwise, and will necessarily result in great loss, to continue the construction of the capitol building now in course of erection at Olympia.”
Then as now, a big public building project became a proxy fight over taxes, austerity and which city deserved the civic investment. The 1895 fight shows how a recession can turn a statehouse into a symbol of misplaced priorities—and how regional rivalries shape public spending.
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