HARD DRIVE TO THE KLONDIKE:
PROMOTING SEATTLE DURING THE GOLD RUSH
A Historic Resource Study
for the Seattle Unit of the
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
CHAPTER TWO
Selling Seattle
Competition Among Cities: Tacoma
Tacoma and Seattle had a longstanding rivalry. As the "City of Destiny," Tacoma had won the coveted position as terminus for the Northern Pacific -- the first transcontinental railroad to arrive in Washington. Like Seattle, Tacoma boasted port as well as rail facilities, and it was relatively the same distance from this location to the Klondike. According to historian Murray Morgan, what distinguished Tacoma from Seattle in the race for Klondike trade was its slow pace and lack of vigor. "Before Tacoma awoke to the full possibilities of the rush north," he explained, "Seattle was synonymous with Alaska." Significantly, Charles Mellen, president of the Northern Pacific, arranged for company steamships to leave from commercial docks in Seattle, even though he had to pay rent for those facilities. Ironically, at the outset of the gold rush, the only ship that sailed regularly from Tacoma to the Far North was named The City of Seattle. [58]
Early accounts by the Tacoma press indicated a lack of recognition of the significance of the gold rush. Two days after the Portland arrived in Seattle, The Tacoma Daily News reported that the city "has not gone wild over the Klondike." As the article advised, "It is not well for people to lose their heads over distant gold fields, only to be reached after extreme hardship.... Careful people who are making a living will stay where they are." [59] Initially, Tacoma business responded to the gold rush with "lethargy." [60] While such caution appears prudent in retrospect, it did not help increase Tacoma's share of the Klondike trade.
Similarly, on July 29, The Tacoma Daily News sneered at Seattle's aggressive approach, suggesting that the city "should not make a spectacle of herself." Moreover, the article found "the Seattle spirit" to be "unlovely." While others praised Seattle's "energy and enterprise," Tacoma saw only "hoggishness and snarling." [61] The Tacoma press further pointed out that other Puget Sound cities shared its sentiments. In late July of 1897, The Skagit News-Herald, for example, urged Seattle promoters to "remember this is not yet the harvest time," advising them to proceed more slowly. [62] Tacoma, then, was not alone in failing to recognize the importance of speed in pursuing the Klondike trade.
A few weeks after the gold rush began, Tacoma businessmen began to realize what they were missing. They suggested advertising in eastern newspapers and establishing a bureau of information. "The principal thing for Tacoma to do just now is to advertise," one promoter advised in August of 1897. "Pick up any of the eastern newspapers today and you will find just how much this town is losing by not keeping to the front as a starting and outfitting point for miners bound for Alaska." [63] Another observer in Tacoma noted that "there is the greatest difference in the world between Tacoma and Seattle in this Klondike excitement.... Over there they are all up in arms about it." [64]
The Tacoma City government, however, was not in a position to respond, as it was "bitterly divided" over a mayoral election that had come down to two votes. Because the ballot boxes had been stolen from the city clerk's office, a recount was not possible. As a result, Tacoma was encumbered by two mayors and two civil service commissions. Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce, established in 1884, split three ways when attempting to select a publicity director for a Klondike advertising campaign. [65]
[Source: Erastus Brainerd Scrapbook, University of
Washington]
Accordingly, in late September of 1897, The Seattle Daily Times featured an article titled "Tacoma Has Given Up," suggesting that Seattle promoters did not view Tacoma as a serious threat. It quoted Brainerd as follows: "It is best for the Coast cities to set forth their merits as outfitting points in their own way, and let the intending Klondiker make his own choice. In that case Seattle will stand the best chance to keep and to enlarge the trade she now controls." [66]
By late 1897, Tacoma's Chamber of Commerce had produced a circular titled "Tacoma: Gateway to the Klondike." This publication promoted Tacoma as "the starting point of all steamers for Alaska." Perhaps attempting to avoid inadvertent advertising for rival cities, its authors refused to use the word "Seattle," referring to W.D. Wood as mayor "of one of the Puget Sound cities." [67] The Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade also printed a booklet titled Tacoma Souvenir, which announced that the city "is not the result of an accident," since the Northern Pacific Railroad selected it as the terminus after "exhaustive examinations of the entire northwest." [68]
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Like boosters in Seattle, Tacoma promoters distributed advertisements to railroads. These billed Tacoma as "the most economical outfitting point for the Klondike." [69] Despite these efforts, however, the Tacoma press revealed that the city remained in a weak position.
Railroads to Tacoma
Attempting to deflect attention from Seattle and the Yukon, The Tacoma Daily News emphasized that there were other "Klondikes" in Washington, where prospectors could strike it rich. This newspaper published a map as part of a special Klondike edition December of 1897 that prominently featured Tacoma as the gateway to the Yukon. Displaying the rail connections that led to the city, it was a direct copy of the map featuring Seattle that the Post-Intelligencer had published in its special Klondike edition two months earlier (see map). Even the organization of The Tacoma Daily News article resembled the earlier Seattle piece. [70]
In summary, Tacoma's efforts to gain the Klondike trade lagged behind that of Seattle every step of the way. When the gold rush ended, according to Morgan, "the race for dominance on Puget Sound was over. Tacoma was the second city. Its struggle in the next years was not for triumph but for survival." During the decade 1890-1900, Seattle's population nearly doubled, reaching 80,676. Tacoma's population increased only 4.7 percent, reaching a total of 37,714. [71] It is interesting to speculate how this outcome might have differed had Erastus Brainerd been named head of the publicity campaign of Tacoma. Even so, it is doubtful that Tacoma, characterized as a "company town" dominated by the railroad, could have surpassed Seattle in the rush for the Klondike trade. [72] Brainerd's enthusiasm and his advertising schemes might not have proven effective without the vision and support of Seattle's business community, which, as noted, immediately seized the opportunity to promote the city.