An Ambassador for the Northwest: Judge Lewis Returns from the East
A Seattle judge’s 1885 journey reveals a Pacific Northwest eager to prove itself to the skeptical East, complete with butter-churning Quakers and coal-scam lawsuits.
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.
A Post-Intelligencer reporter called at the office of Judge Lewis yesterday afternoon. When asked for a brief account of his Eastern trip, the Judge said: 'On the 15th of last February I left Seattle with Mrs. Lewis and our youngest son, Toodles, for a trip through the Eastern States. Philadelphia, like all the large Eastern cities, was very dirty, owing to the continued cold weather. We went to the National Capital ten days after the inauguration of President Cleveland, and found the city full of Democratic office seekers. I made it my business wherever I went to talk up Washington Territory in general and Seattle in particular. In several places I had Toodles distribute copies of the Post-Intelligencer. I found the people wholly ignorant of our climate. They think it is similar to that of New England. When I would read portions of letters from friends in Seattle telling of the beautiful weather, they would hardly believe the statements. I also intended to make an oral argument before the Secretary of the Interior on the attempted steal of the school lands near this city by Robert Wingate and others, on the pretense that they are coal lands, but I found that the case could not be reached until June. I also met George W. Harris, President of the First National Bank of Seattle. He has been negotiating a loan for parties who are going to make some substantial improvements in Seattle. He telegraphed me on the 4th of this month that he had been successful.'
“I found the people wholly ignorant of our climate. They think it is similar to that of New England. When I would read portions of letters from friends in Seattle telling of the beautiful weather, they would hardly believe the statements.”
In 1885, Seattle was fighting for legitimacy and investment, with leaders like Judge Lewis acting as PR agents to dispel the 'frozen north' myth. Today, the roles are reversed: Seattle is the tech powerhouse and global destination, while local leaders struggle to manage the rapid growth and housing crises that were mere blueprints in the Judge’s time.
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