The Fight for Washington’s Capital
The constitutional convention’s attempt to prematurely cement Olympia as the capital sparks outrage.
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 recommendation made to the constitutional convention by the committee on State Institutions and Public Buildings, that the capital of the state be established permanently at Olympia, is a remarkable surprise. Indeed, the recommendation is almost to be said to be wholly gratuitous, since it was not the duty of this committee to make more than incidental mention concerning the location of the future state capital, or to provide a way for the selection of a location by the people of the state. This is a question which the constitutional convention has no right to determine; one which belongs to the people of the state at large. Almost half a score of cities, each offering a list of special advantages, are claiming the location of the capital. These cities certainly have the right to be heard, and the people at large have the right to make the decision. For the constitutional convention to assume to make the decision in the matter would be wholly unauthorized and improper, nothing short, in fact, of a violent instance of snap judgment, which the people of the territory would certainly have the right, and we believe the spirit, to resent.
“For the constitutional convention to assume to make the decision in the matter would be wholly unauthorized and improper.”
Long before Seattle became the economic powerhouse of the region, the location of the state capital was a high-stakes, contentious civic battle. Territorial politics often involved similar backroom maneuvering that ignored the voices of rapidly growing towns like Spokane and North Yakima.
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