Valentine Scrip Sparks Protest Over Washington Waterfronts

A storm of protest is brewing in Washington over the use of Valentine scrip on waterfront lands, with reports almost daily being received at the local land office. The recent decision in Washington by Register John B. Reed, regarding applications for certain tide lands by Frank Burns Jr., has added fuel to the fire. Valentine scrip originated from a land grant in California in 1872 to Thomas B. Valentine for services to the government. Because the government stipulated that land should be sold to private persons, Valentine scrip was issued to allow him to select unoccupied public lands. Now, speculators are using this scrip to claim water fronts in Tacoma, Port Townsend, and Seattle, arguing that tide lands—those below high and low water marks—were unappropriated public lands of the United States. In consequence, the scrip has advanced enormously in value. On the other hand, the general status of these lands is held to be the property of the state. Consequently, the law is being invoked, and protests are coming into the land office more rapidly than they can be settled. It is believed that many are trying to assume control of the water fronts of this and other towns to hold them for enormous profits. In Seattle, the water front west of Railroad Street, including Dearborn Street, is now tied up in these filings by the Seattle Improvement Company and the Northern Pacific Dock and Ship Building Company.