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BLAST FROM THE PAST
Seattle Shocker

It has been said that everyone has a conspiracy theory. This seems to have been true of the author(s) of an "op-ed" piece about Rotary in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 28, 1909. With little regard for restraint, the feature, reproduced below, accused Rotarians of placing self-servingness above service and using fellowship for personal gain (lower images). A further suggestion was that the Rotary club was hatching a conspiracy to turn the Seattle citizenry into puppets of political graft and corruption (upper images).

A present-day commentator on the feature observed that it was a shock to the Seattle Rotarians to see what outsiders were thinking about their club's character and purposes. No doubt. But a question remains: What actually motivated the attack?

Perhaps, as Dr. Freud might have said, it was a simple case of Rotary-envy. More likely, it was the result of misinformation and misunderstanding. If so, the article's appearance was an early indicator of an imperative of which RI and individual Rotarians are now highly conscious: the need for ongoing PR efforts to promote Rotary awareness and a positive image of Rotary.

In any event, the Seattle club survived the attack and, this year, celebrates a century of fellowship and service. No small achievement!