, 1892-10-26
STATE POLITICAL POINTERS.

Those of you who have resided in this
city for the last fifteen years will not need
to be reminded of the manner in which
John II. McGraw, saloon keeper and pro-
prietor of a gambling den, acquired suffi-
cient political pull to secure for himself
the office of chief of police of Seattle.
Many of you, perhaps most of you, would
not care to tell what you know. Possibly
most of you can only speak by hearsay, for
the record of that den is such that few per-
sons, now resident in the city, were fre-
quenteIs of it. But the fact was public,
open ndsnotoriOus that it was place of
the lowest class and that the choice of its
proprietor for the Office of chief of police
was considered a victory by the vicious
and degraded element of the city. You
know how the Office of the chief of police
was administered by John H. McGraw,
how he then formed an alliance
with vice and crime, which enabled
him and his coadjutors to hold the
city government in their hands, until YOU
rose in indignation and in March last
hurled the infamous gang from power
You know the record of John H. McGraW
in the sheriff's Office. which the court
records show was disgrace to him and 20
the party which placed him in Office
You know of his alliance with man call
ing himself Leigh S. j. Hunt, who having
obtained control Of the Post-Intelligencer
combined with McGraw to get the govern
ment of Seattle and King county in their
clutch, hoping in time to secure a grip upon
the state administration. Concerning Mr..
Hunt, we shall say nothing, because his
personality is irrelevant to the discussion.
His paper has been bully and a parasite
1t has played in higher business circles the
same sort ofgame which Mr.. McGraw prac-
ticed with success among the inmates of
Whitechapel. The combination grew rich
and powerful, though much Of its wealth
was polluted by the touch of shame, and
much of its power was due to its unscrupu-
.ous use of the influence which the only
morning paper could exert in a city where
new enterprises, requiring the support Of
public opinion, were being set on foot.
You knew the history of this whole
miserable business so we'll that in March
last you laid aside all political connec-
tions and came forward with your ballots
against the villainOus and infamous COM
bination. That was the issue upon
which you voted. 1t was not as between
the democracy and republicanism, but
whether the respectable element among
you should rule this city or the McGraw-
Hunt-W -Whitechapel ring should continue
in power. You refused even TO listen to
Mr.. John Leary when be told you that,
if elected, he, not they, would rule the
city. The ring were behind Mr.. Leary,
and you were bound to drive them from
power
Are not these things facts2 We ask you,
citizens of Seattle, irrespective Of party, if
these are not the facts, if indeed we have
not in the afOregOing resume kept well
within the facts'-Seattle Telegraph.
When John II. McGraw was nominated
by the republicans the democratic party
resolved to fight square political fight
and avoid as far as possible anything like
personal references. Their candidate. like
McGraw, had held official position and
been in political life in this state, and it
was thought that full justice would be
done the public interests if the discussion,
so far as these candidates were concerned,
was confined to their public career, with
such few personal matters as were neces
sary to inform the voters what part the
candidates had played in the social and
business life OF the state. We do not denv
that some of the country papers attacked
Mr.. McGraw's record in the state with con-
siderable severity, but they did so on their
own responsibility and withoutany concert
or understanding with the managers of the
democratic campaign. As TO what Mr..
McGraw was before coming here or is now
in his private life the democratic managers
were resolved to remain indifferent, and
though many offers of information were
rendered them and to this paper, none of
them were accepted.-Seattle Telegraph.
sis McGraw of more consequence than
Harrison2" asked the poor benighted Ia
coma Ledger. Now, will the Ledger tell us
what earthly gain the McGraw-Hunt-
Laughton ring could expect to make out Of
Harrison?-Seattle Telegraph.
The candidacy Of John H. McGraw is Of
itself an offense to every voter who believes
in political virtue and despises political
vice, every voter is a patriot before he is a
partisan. No man acquainted with Nc
Graw's history, can believe that it would
be wise or even a safe thing to elect him
governor of the state. If voters, instead of
blindly voting their party ticket, would
carefully and conscientiously inform them
selves as to the character of this candidate,
he would be beaten by majority of thous-
ands.-Spokane Chronicle.