The Political Theater of 1885 Seattle
An overheard dialogue between two political 'gentlemen' reveals the messy, backroom realities of early Seattle’s 'Law and Order' movement.
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.
Saturday afternoon, A. and B. met by chance in the office of a common friend. A. and B. are both residents of Seattle and both are early desirous for the welfare of the city. B. is a professional who is deeply involved in various enterprises in the city. He is more broad-minded and conservative than his companion, and he is easily found on the right side of questions. Saturday afternoon, A. and B. met by chance in the office of a common friend. A said: 'You are as bad a sneak as the rest of them, and I don't care to have anything more to do with you.' B replied: 'Go slow, my friend, go slow. Let me look into this matter a little.' A argued that Mayor Leary had gone back on his pledges, specifically regarding the enforcement of Sunday laws, and had pandered to the cranks. B countered by reviewing the history of the 1884 election, noting that Leary was the consensus candidate of both the 'Protective Association' and the 'Young Men's Independent Club'—coalitions formed in the back rooms of the Grand Central and the Chamber of Commerce. 'The Sunday law has been violated every Monday in the year,' B observed, pointing out that despite the political theater of 'Law and Order,' there had been fewer than a dozen prosecutions. A, forced to concede, admitted he hadn't thought of it in that light. 'Well, where was Leary’s inconsistency?' B asked. A eventually agreed to support the ticket, admitting that his anger was based more on a 'false cry' than on the actual facts of the administration.
“If Leary has not done what we wanted him to do, he has certainly done what we said we wanted him to do.”
This 1885 debate about Mayor Leary’s selective enforcement of Sunday laws mirrors modern-day political tension in Seattle regarding how the city prioritizes the enforcement of ordinances and the influence of political 'coalitions' over public platforms. It captures the perennial frustration of citizens who feel that behind the veneer of 'Law and Order' rhetoric, the real governance of Seattle is decided in private offices.
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