The Political Battle for the Capital City
A fiery editorial argues that Centralia—not Olympia—should be the rightful capital of the new state of Washington, based on the convenience of the commercial class.
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 question of the location of the capital of the new state is one of great interest. It can be seen that those connected with the commercial interests of the state are, almost to a man, opposed to the support of a large, or if you will, the majority of the voters, who would prefer to have the capital at Olympia. The promoters base their view in favor of Centralia on a force of argument for which we are not prepared to apologize. They say that if the majority of the voters wish for the honor, that it is theirs; but if the interests are patent to anyone who views the matter from an unprejudiced point of view, it is easily realized, not from Seattle and Tacoma alone, but from every place east of the mountains. The completion of the Gray's Harbor road will bring the whole valley of the Chehalis and the towns around the harbor in immediate communication with Centralia. It does not need argument to show that the whole country south of this road will support the efforts of those striving to fix the capital there. The advantage of going by water to Olympia from Seattle and Tacoma is nullified by the loss of time it entails, and the electors of those towns may be safely expected to vote for Centralia in this matter. Merchants, traders, and lawyers will have more business to do at the state capital in one day than farmers will have in a year, and it is too much of a good joke to expect that these men will vote for journeys across the mountains in severe weather to pacify the sentiment of those who, if they were left to themselves, would not care where the legislature and the state executive built its camping ground.
“It is too much of a good joke to expect that these men will vote for journeys across the mountains in severe weather to pacify the sentiment of those who, if they were left to themselves, would not care where the legislature and the state executive built its camping ground.”
This 1889 editorial captures the high-stakes regional power struggle that defined Washington's statehood era. Today, the debate has shifted from where to put the capital to the intense competition for resources and transit infrastructure between the I-5 corridor and the rest of the state.
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