The Great Liquor Debate of 1886
As Seattle teetered on the edge of a new era, citizens prepared for a pivotal June vote to determine the future of the local liquor trade.
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.
Petitions are being circulated in the local precincts to place the question of 'Local Option' before the voters at the coming election in June. The proposition is a simple one: 'Shall the sale of spirituous, malt, and fermented liquors be permitted within the limits of the city of Seattle?' This measure has been discussed with a great deal of warmth by many of our citizens. It is argued by some that the saloon, as a business, brings in revenue and social life, while others maintain that it is the source of all our civic ills. The election on the first day of June will finally put the matter to rest, determining whether the city will remain 'wet' or move toward prohibition.
“The proposition is a simple one: 'Shall the sale of spirituous, malt, and fermented liquors be permitted within the limits of the city of Seattle?'”
The 1886 debate over 'Local Option' captures the same tension seen in today's zoning and regulatory battles over where and how alcohol can be sold in a rapidly growing city. Seattle has always been defined by this friction between its rough-and-tumble frontier history and the moralizing influence of a maturing urban center.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.