The Political Shapeshifter of Seattle

No citizen of the Territory is today a more devoted Democrat than Joe Rohn. He’s a Democrat all through, from the soles of his feet up, in the morning, at noon and at night, in all places and in every circumstance. He has been thus firm and zealous a little over three months, or ever since the middle of November, when it became definitely known that Voorhees had been elected Delegate and Cleveland President. Joe had not been particularly useful or extravagant in aiding the election of these gentlemen, but, once elected, no one hollered any louder over it than he did. These events, it seems, were all that were needed to place Joe firmly in the party, while it will probably never be positively known that the directly contrary events—the election of Armstrong and Waine—would have landed him as squarely and almost as firmly in the Republican party. The politics of our friend Joe, in fact, were a doubtful and ascertainable quantity. He had been over and over a candidate for office in his town and county, and by manipulating the wires was invariably clever enough to mean his qualities. His name in the various contests appeared upon curious tickets—Democrats, Republicans and androgynous. In one notable contest—that of 1883—he was repudiated outright by the Democrats, and a sharp fight was made against him. In that struggle Joe ran for Probate Judge on the Republican ticket, and Bradshaw swerved him on the Democratic ticket. The sly dog, Joe, won the race, he getting the full Republican vote, represented by the number of ballots cast for Delegate Brents. Though Joe has been a little mixed in the past, we are confident he’ll be so no longer—provided the Democrats remain in power, and Joe gets and is kept in the office of Collector of Customs or its equivalent.