The Political Brawl for the Soul of Pioneer Seattle
As the city approaches a high-stakes municipal election, a local newspaper mounts a vitriolic defense of the business class against a 'People’s' movement they claim will bring anarchy and mob rule.
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 issue today is loyalty—loyalty to our country and loyalty to our town. On one side are those who, by their own admission, support that which leads to bloodshed and riot throughout the Pacific coast. They represent the White Guard men of the International union whose object is the overthrow of our institutions. It represents those who lifted their voices in rejoicings when almost a hundred Seattle policemen fell beneath the most cowardly blow that was ever dealt. It represents turbulence, lawlessness, lack of stability, and ultimate ruin.
If this were an isolated community, depending entirely upon its own resources for prosperity, the results of the triumph of the 'People’s' ticket might not be so immediately disastrous. But we are not isolated. Our hope lies in the investment of Eastern capital in our midst, in the construction of railroads, in the building of factories, and in the opening of homes. With such aid, we face a future that is all brightness. Without it, we face a future that is darkness and blackness itself.
Remember, voters, that while not inveighing against the integrity or personal goodness of the men upon the so-called 'People's' ticket, yet we call upon you to ponder well before you vote the principles involved in their election. The vindication of that principle means ruin to our city if they are elected. It means the rebuke and punishment of the men and the party that stood up in the day of trouble to uphold and enforce the laws of the country. Recollect that the building of the plank road to the head of the bay means $40,000 of Philadelphia money to be expended among our Seattle workers through the influence of Mr. Burke, one of the loyal candidates from the Third Ward. That record must be maintained if we would have the immeasurable tide of our prosperity roll on.
“With such aid, we face a future that is all brightness. Without it, we face a future that is darkness and blackness itself.”
This editorial captures the fierce 1880s clash between Seattle’s labor activists and the city’s burgeoning elite, who used the specter of 'foreign capital' and 'law and order' to consolidate power. It mirrors today's debates where civic leaders still frequently argue that business-friendly policies and private investment are the only things preventing an economic 'blackness' or decline.
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