The Seattle Dry Goods War: A 19th-Century Boycott
When local merchants began using circulars to undercut their competition and 'boycott' a local newspaper, the P-I fought back by calling on the moral, law-abiding citizens of Seattle to take a stand.
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 writer has just read a circular issued today by Schwabacher Bros. appealing to the patronage of the public on the grounds of a general reduction in prices, and that the reputation of the firm is so solid that what they say can be depended upon. Well, there are tricks in all trades, and there have been some learned lately by Schwabacher & Co. Lastly, they were the first to join the petition of Hatch & Butler to boycott the Post-Intelligencer because it favored the enforcement of the law. That was a decidedly bold step. Next, they comply with the request of the city council and withdraw all their patronage from your paper because they see the necessity of employing means to make up the losses that will inevitably come to them on account of their withdrawal from a paper having by far the largest circulation of any in western Washington, and hence utilize the method of advertising in circulars, alleging as an inducement to the public that goods are now to be sold at reduced prices. Now, there are several dry goods firms in this city, whose proprietors are men in the largest and broadest sense of the word, and who believe that the Sabbath should be regarded as a day of rest, if not of worship. First among these we would mention W. P. Boyd & Co., a firm represented by a fearless, honest business man, who does not need 'letter circulars' to inform the public that what they say can be depended upon. Neither does he need the trick of advertising a reduction to lure buyers, for everybody knows that he sells nothing but good articles, and his are always marked as low as anybody can afford to sell. Now, Mr. Editor, are the Christian people of this city and county, the temperate people, and the moral, conservative, law-abiding people of whom there are a good many hundreds, going to throw themselves on the side of boycotters and whisky men and give their hard-earned dollars and cents to aid these people when there are others who are deserving of their patronage? If there is anything in the signs of the times, we think not.
“Are the Christian people of this city and county... going to throw themselves on the side of boycotters and whisky men and give their hard-earned dollars and cents to aid these people?”
This 1885 editorial reflects the fierce, localized newspaper wars of early Seattle, showing how businesses weaponized public opinion and 'boycotts' long before the internet. The dynamic remains eerily familiar to modern Seattleites: the struggle between established local institutions and the shifting influence of high-volume merchants trying to capture the market.
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