, 1892-08-22
THAT CANAL JOB.
Why the Plank was Placed in the
Republican Platform.
Only as an ENPedient 10 Catch
Votes I'm King County Was &c
Urged 49, What a We'll Known
Citizen of Pierce Saws,

i DAS as Ah GAbeuAehb 70 C0tch
Votes in King County Was it
Urged 80 what a We'll Known
Citizen of Pierce saws.
TACOMA, Aug. 22.-H. c. Clement, a well
known wealthy citizen of Tacoma, who is
the proprietor of the Grand Pacific Hotel,
was one of the Pierce county delegation to
the recent convention. Mr.. Clement says:
being one of committee of three
which met like committee from King
county, at the request Of its delegates, to
arrange, or at least try to arrange, a resolu-
ton in regard to the canal that would pre-
vent any friction in the recent convention,
l made mental note of the arguments
used by the King county committee A
few deductions drawn from their remarks
might be interesting reading for the people
Of this state. The King county commit
tee consisted Of four gentlemen, for whom
Mr.. McGraw was the spokesman. Not one
argument was urged TO show that the job
had any state or national importance.
They treated it as a purely local matter
which must be indorsed by the convention
in order to keep King county in the repub-
lican ranks. Mr. McGraw stated the case
for the committee, and said that there
we're lots of idle men in Seattle who
thought that their bread and butter was
at stake, and they demanded an indorse-
ment of the canal in the republican plat
form or they would bolt the ticket; that
the delegation did not dare TO go back to
Seattle without il; that there were thOus-
ands of men at work on railroads i'm the
state who could be told that this canal
would furnish work for them when the
railroads we're completed; that the party
could secure their votes for its ticket by
the Endorsement. 1t was treated entirely
by them as an eXpedient for that purpose.
1t was stated that the expenditure of the
vast sum of money acquired would benefit
somebody, but that the canal itself would
be of any benefit commercially was never
mentioned. That it would be a matter Of
state or national importance was never
limited at. That there was any need of its
construction for any purpose whatever,
except the one above named, was never
urged. That it would facilitate or cheaper
the handling Of the products of the state
was never set forth. The only thing that
seemed to burden their thoughts was that
it must be done to secure votes for the re-
publican ticket in King county.
One would naturally infer that the raid
ing of Uncle Sans treasury of millions of
dollars was entirely out Of prOpurtiOn to
the expedient offered. Having been a re-
publican all my life, and one who has made
a study Of its principles, / could not but
look upon the job as the act of a pack of
political pirates, to fasten upon The repub.
lican party the contamination of a private
and local scheme with which it has no busi-
ness TO deal. 1t remains to be seen whether
the democratic convention, which meets at
Olympia the 25th. will free itself from any
private snap com bination that may try to
load it down with something of like ma
ture, and 90 before the people without be-
ing handicapped. This opening Of Uncle
Sans sack, seemingly for no other purpose
except to give a certain locality the power
to dominate the politics Of the state,
through the expenditure Of the money,
ought to be discouraged.