The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-07
HERE AND THERE,
ssriso Comments on Matters Municipal
and Political.

N~4AAuentS on M8tt9r9 N OnlClpoa
and Political.
take this Opportunity 10 give due notice to
my forrnertors that have finally resolved TO
cease al e1ors to resurrect tia salary orti-
A4aee. IL Is useless 10 tell me that duty and
devotion to the general welfare Of the eonnu-
MY demand OK ne TO continue and sgsiate in
issof Oh reduction of salsriss in proportion TO
tns decreased employment OF labc. Az such
arguments would be proper aad available were
1t not for the ail-impor,snt fact tAas we are on
.ns eve OF . presidential campaign. an not q
moses can not draw water from stone, and
an positive our municipal resoruers are IS
Asue susceptible to reason a. 10 . stone
fefaaps many readers are wondering a. to
what am getting at Il 10 SO long since any
one heard word Of Q salary ordinance that
many nave forgotten that there ever was IN a.
Tempt made by the new council to reduce salar-
ieS fes 20 their credit BE- il said
taat some OF our new city fathers meant
"sli- ana after their becsmius acquainted vita
tneif duties they resolved to keep faith with the
pubic. and he'd several joint sessions a. which
tnsy thoroughly investigated into the number
OF employees necessary in the various clerical
departments aid as 70 what would Be just
compensation. They passed an ordinance
Known a the SALARY ordnance" This resolu-
sion was to % properly ergressed and passed in
eacn mousse The mayor was known to be glad
70 welcome such an ordinance in order that he
might do his share 70 relieve . suffering people
from the burdens settled upon them BY "ring'
NATURALIZATION Reform was to take the place
OF corruption; salvation OF damnasion; every
oooy was TO be relieved from the srduous bur
zen OF taxation: the entire city was TO Join his
nieaness, the mayor. and shout hslleiujah. But
tney didn't Nothing OF the kind occurred. The
proposed salary ordinance never saw daylight
And why? Why. indeedf would have to Be
70 D.,
order to answer that question. The best can
90 Tor my weli-meaairg, but extremely foolish
friends. who are making my life bitter BY theft
continuous pfattls about the salary ordinance,
u 70 repeat faithfully, word for word, the ex-
plantation given to me BY one OF Mr.. Carson'a
ueutenants, who. by the way, 10 acknowledged
TO be the brain power of the machine: Nothing
succeeds Ike success" said my kind informant,
"and nothing il a. essential TO party success in
tnis age OF reason - money. Money il the
moving power In every movement and in poll
tics more so than in anything else. After the
eaiary ordinance was ell fixed up, we did little
figuring and We found that the difference be-
tween the existing ordinance and the one in
tended amounted TO about $2,51o per month, or
nearly sl5,ooo for the six months from the time
the ordinance was introduced until after the
general election So We simply persuaded the
committee in charge OF the ordinance to hold
pacx until alter the election. The officers re-
eeive JUST what the new ordinance intends they
shall receive and we get tns balance. Thus We
have, to tegin with, a campaign fund OF $4,000.
NO one has any kick coming about heavy assess
ments. Seq
Well, saw. and am seeing still.
A new weekly reform Journal has made its
appearance on thss,-eets OF seattle II is edited
by the wel-known reiormers R Bridges and 2.
=: howell The journal is misnamed the Tfdmp.
Neither its editors or their edhe-ents have any
Idea OF trsInping o: any sympathy with that
the new journalistic addition should be the
Ac1tpu!ctor, for it Is conceded on all sides tina:
the sole object OF Mr.. Bridges Tramp is 90 ms
nipulate truce between the factions Of the
Peoples party. restore 10 Mr.. Bridges his lost
influence in the councils of that party. and thus
enable him to do his share with the aid of the
Feoples party towards his sworn and secret
ally. the Democratic machine
At the risk Of being csnsured for wasting time
ana space on SO Insignificant Q subject, l shall
recite little current history in connection with
the origin of the Trom2 You wiz have to fol-
low ne back to the spring of 1891, when Mr.
Bridges, after having done his full duty-altsr-
nately or Jointly as the occasion demanded-to-
wards both great political parties, concluded
that party OF his own creation. one of which
be should be the head ana center, would afford
him the very best opportunity In which to dis
play the extraordinary amount of ingenuity
with which God or the devil endowed him. He
therefore become the prime mover in the organ
fzing OF the Peoples party in this county. He
soon beguiled Mr.. Knox and others into the
publication Of the Peoples Ca1 weekly paper
devoted TO the interest OF the Peoples psrty
Mr.. Bridges became its Joint editor. But the
city did not afford sufficient space for NJ
Bridges expansive power. At that time Mr.
Bridges was chairman OF what hs called "The
m layo b%<>~w If
Labor" Thus he managed to issue call for Q
Peoples party state convention.
The minutes OF that convention are before
me, and from them copy that pursuant to call
issued by District Assembly lis, Knights Of
Labor. the foiiowing-named delegates represent
ing the Organisations herein named, met In
ewitzer's opsrs-house, North Yakims, July Is.
1881, and perfected the organis alton of the Peo-
pies party" These same minutes tell Us that
the usual committees were appointed. and that
Mr.. Bridges was appointed chairman Of the
organization committee Under the circun-
stances, 1t 10 not at ali strange that Mr. Bridges
should be the permanent presiding officer of
that convention. The usual plentiful amour.
OF whereases and resolves were introduced and
passed The brss, claimed to have originated
in the fertile brain of the chairman Of the con.
yention, is as follows:
WHEREAS, The people Of the state of Wash
inston have suffered from the oppression Of
corporate gfsso anu un1uss regis latlou, which is
prevalent the world over, and having come TO
the conclusion that the Republican and Demo
crotsc parties are absolutely il control OF cor
'porate srissocracy and its hirelings-the poli.
ticians-ant that there i. no hope of accompiish-
ing any legislative reforms in behalf OF human
ity through such channels; we, therefore, de-
clare and oridia The following TO be our dsclars-
ton of principles.
Then come resolutions by the yard. Ishsll
quote one only. It is homes. and TO the point
Aud also child of NJ. Bridges brain:
Resolsed That the Peoples party of wash
ingtol e..phattoGy.y declare against fls.oa with
any of the otnor political partiss
From that tire-July Is, fSol-on Mr. BRIDGE,
took very active part In the work Of reforms A.
ton for and in behalf of the peop!e. He spoks
at nearly all of their meetings; he wrote fiery
editorials in the Peoples Cdl; his cigar stand on
Main street became the headquarters for sli r..
formers. Some hsd the audsci,y to rnisconstrus
Bridges selt-sacridcing intentions into 3 selfish
motive. They claimed that as = business vent
ure, 10 sell cigars and tobacco. the headquarters
WAS success, but as reformation temple IL
was failure But az best that does not con.
Germ US Things went on smoothly and to
every ones entire satisfaction until few week,
before our last municipal Campaign.
In the beginning OF February. 1872, Messrs
Rowell and Bridges began 70 show symptoms OF
losing interest in the state Peoples PARTY and
st the same time manifested unusual zeal in be.
half OF municipal reformation. To the disnay
of the earnest Peoples party followers, Bridge,
and his boayguari suddenly concluded that
the reform" that they all 30 earnestly PRAYED
70, could not be procured through the channel
of the Peoples party. bu. tha,the only possible
way TO afford the people o much needed reliet
was through the holy medium OF the D.r,o-
cratic party. At this tuncture there are ,xo