The Seattle Republican. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1???-1915, 1901-03-29

POLITICAL P0T-PIE !:



not be without its charm among the
politicians Of this state, and more
especially of this county, for a good
many years to come. There are to
be found but few persons now living
in King county but to whom the
name of L. S. J. Hunt is as familiar
as though they were personally ac-
quainted with the man possessing
the cognomen, and that, too, despite
the fact that Mr. Hunt has been alb
sent from the city since 1894. Few
men seldom ever become so closely
identified with great city's growth
as did Leigh Hunt with that Of Seat
tie, for so nearly inseparable are
they that now in ones daily routine
OF business even at the present time
the expression Of CHOSE were in the
good old days Of Leigh Hunt" can be
heard two and three times every day.
His friends, though he was absent
from the city, seem to have never
ceased in single instance to worship
his memory, sing his praise and pray
for his return. His enemies have
never been able to show any good
and sufficient cause for being his enc
mics, and they live in perfect terror,
lest he does return to Seattle, King
county and the state of Washington
and take up the thread exactly where
he laid it down. Mr.. Hunt is man
Of strong personalities who either
hates or loves a man.
% % %
Since 1885, when L. S. !. Hunt
first landed in Seattle, a rather sick
ly, consumptive-looking being, with
death apparently staring him in the
face-his life has been a romance, a
dream, a pen picture, punctured
with patience, pathos and proyoca-
tlon-he passed from the positive to
the superlative and from the super
lative to the positive, financially as
well as politically speaking, with
bounds and leaps. Practically with
out money or means on arriving in
Seattle, he succeeded in becoming
the absolute owner Of the Post-Intel-
llgencer. For the purchase price Of
the paper he gave his notes to the
owners, of which ex-GOv. John IT.
McGraw was one of them, and long
before the notes were due he had
PAID them off in full, so successful
was the paper in a financial way
under his management. It soon de-
Veloped that Mr.. Hunt was a Jour
nalistic wonder, that success attend
ed his efforts and that under his
shrewd and SPACIOUS management
the POst-Intelligencer soon became
the leading factor politically, fnan-
clally and socially Of the entire
Northwest.
% % %
Leigh Hunts fortune was made
When he secured the ownership Of
the acknowledgement, for in less
than live years from that day he was
worth pretty nearly a million dollars
IN Seattle holdings and securities.
He was the leading as well as central
figure In every political combination
that was made in the Republican
party so FAR as the politics of this
state was concerned. He was truly
the man of the hour Of every occa-
sion; but few men, though they gain
the ownership Of daily paper and
though they make the same become
paying institution seldom ever en-
Joy the same amount Of public pres
tlge, political Importance and gener-
al influence in so short time as did
l.. s. j. Hunt as owner and director
OF the Post-Intelhgencer, the mouth
piece OF the Republican party in this
state. From SIT, 900, the amount
paid for the paper by Mr.. Hunt in
1888, IN 1890 it was valued at $780,
900. The growth of the paper in
value was as miraculous as the
growth of Mr.. Hunt in political
power.
% % %
The palmy political days of Mr..
Hunt IN this state, county and city
are well remembered by many of the
citizens that now live in this COM
munity, and they look back to the
time with pride and pleasure, and
the remark is frequently heard that
IF Leigh Hunt was again at the
head of political affairs in Seattle,