The 'Martial Law' Grab
An early attempt by land speculators to seize control of local governance in King County for profit.
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 martial law resolution of the Tacoma convention bids fair to turn out one of the most rank embarrassments ever invented in this territory. The history of that resolution shows that there was a sinister purpose behind it. That purpose was clearly to further control the people of King County, and of Seattle in particular, in a central control that had been set to bind and then arrest the spirit of harmony and industry which the citizens of this territory have for all time held. The resolution was opposed by all but two of the King County delegates and was carried only by a stray delegation from Pierce County. The argument advanced by two or three outside King County shysters and street brawlers that it would strike five hundred score votes in King County was the only thing that secured its report by the committee on resolutions. There was no principle in the matter, just interest and barter for votes.
“The argument advanced by two or three outside King County shysters and street brawlers that it would strike five hundred score votes in King County was the only thing that secured its report.”
This 1886 report mirrors modern anxieties about external influence on local city governance, specifically regarding how developers and political 'shysters' attempt to steamroll local autonomy to secure favorable economic outcomes. Today's Seattle struggles with similar tensions between neighborhood-level control and regional political mandates.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.