In many ways the 1920 Washington State gubernatorial election was a replay of 1912. The incumbent (1912 Hay, 1920 Hart) was a status quo Republican who had inherited the office as a result of his predecessor's death. The Democrat was a Puget Sound-based moderate (1912 Lister, 1920 Black), and the real-threat third party candidates were coal-mining King County Scotsmen named Bob (1912 Hodge, 1920 Bridges). It was Bob Bridges bad fortune to run an aggressive campaign for Governor in the age of "Return to Normalcy," when the voter audience was growing weary of progressive visionaries. Even so, as the candidate for the Farmer-Labor Party he placed an impressive second in the midst of a Republican sweep.

1920 was the third serious attempt to break the back of the two-party system in Washington. The first, in 1896, resulted in the election of John Rogers and his Populists to every statewide office. But four years later the bubble had burst, and Rogers himself was re-elected as a Democrat. Then in 1912 the Progressive Party, led by Theodore Roosevelt, won the state's electoral vote and elected a controlling chunk of representives and senators to the State Legislature. But they also evaporated as their ideas were co-opted by both major parties. The 1920 Farmer-Labor Party uprising was a bit different in that it didn't have it's genesis as a splinter off the Republicans or Democrats. Rather than mostly drawing people away from the Big Two (although many Dems fled to the FLP), the FLP served as an umbrella for other disenfranchised groups. For example the Socialists, who had a candidate for Governor ever since 1900, endorsed the FLP in 1920.

In Robert Bridges, the FLP had found a charismatic and fascinating gubernatorial candidate. He was establishment enough to be taken seriously, but dangerous enough to instill fear into the hearts of all conservative newspaper editorialists and give them hyperbolic fits. He was a radical with credentials.

Bridges was born in 1861 in Ayrshire, Scotland to John and Barbara (Patten) Bridges. His father was a coal miner. Robert began working in the mines at the age of 8. Port of Seattle historian Padraic Burke observed, "It was in Scotland that he first experienced the inhuman working conditions that he was to campaign against the rest of his life. At the age of nine, according to Bridges' boast, he led his first strike when he headed a group of coal miners in a strike for better working conditions."

He married Agnes about 1881 and they came to America in 1882. The couple would have 12 children, eight of them living long enough to survive their father. At first he worked in coal mines in Illinois and Iowa. In the latter state he was thrown out of work for a spell by a strike. In 1887 he moved to King County and found employment with the Pacific Coast Coal Company in Black Diamond. He also worked in the Newcastle mines. Ungovernor Hodge, also from Scotland, arrived in the same area shortly after Bridges left.

During his Black Diamond years, Bridges became a union organizer and eventually hooked up with the Knights of Labor. According to his obituary, "When he settled in Black Diamond he could neither read nor write, but he set himself the task of mastering both with a determination that was characteristic of his whole career. For the rest of his life, he was one of the most omniverous students of standard books in the state."

The 1890 coal mine strike forced him to move to Seattle. For the first couple years he was a foreman for a street building crew. About 1892 he opened a small general store near the waterfront. But by the mid 1890s his occupational activities had taken a back seat to his civic work. He was one of the movers and shakers of the Seattle Single Tax League, an issue that remained dear to his heart throughout his political career.

It was also during this period Bridges signed on with the Populist movement. His standing as a labor leader was such that he served as the chair of the founding convention in North Yakima. He also had a knack for publicity that anticipated future politicians. Making a point in refusing the offer of a free train pass from the hated railroad lobby, Robert walked the 160 miles over the Cascades from Seattle to Ellensburg. Once there, he easily gained the nomination for State Land Commisioner and was elected in the 1896 sweep that sent Populists into every statewide elected office.

Most of Land Commissioner Bridges' official energy went into the Seattle waterfront and canal situations. He made decisions angering Thomas Burke and the Second Harbor Lines Commission. But commercial interests were not the only enemies he had made. Having little faith in the two-party system, Robert felt betrayed by Gov. Rogers' efforts at fusion with the Democrats and as early as late 1897 considered joining an effort to promote gubernatorial impeachment. Historian Richard Fisch, describing Bridges' role as chair of the 1900 Washington Populist Convention, said Robert "wore his hostility to the governor as a badge of honor." Rogers went on to be the only Democrat elected to statewide office in 1900 in a Republican sweep. Meanwhile, Bridges returned to private life.

In 1900 Robert moved out of Seattle and took up farming in the Orillia area. He also formed a partnership with George McFarlane in a real estate and insurance business, which seemed to be the occupation of choice for third party Ungovernors in Washington. His obituary fills in his activities during the first decade of the 20th century, "After successfully completing a drainage district in Orillia, Mr. Bridges next turned his attention to the problem of making an asset of the lower Duwamish River. He was active in the organization of the Duwamish Waterway project and for a time managed the operations of that enterprise. The Port Commission idea for Seattle and King County at once attracted him and Mr. Bridges was elected the south district member on the first Board of Commissioners in 1911."

The creation of the Seattle Port Commission by an overwhelming public vote on Sept. 5, 1911 was, as Walt Crowley wrote, "a high-water mark [note: I'm sure Walt meant no pun here, but I can't resist] for the local Progressive Movement, which advocated public control of essential facilities and utilities, and a pivotal defeat for the railroads that had long dominated Seattle's harbor thanks to imprudent municipal concessions."

Padraic Burke gives a mini-portrait of Bridges at this point in time: "Looking more like a longshoreman than a port commissioner, Bridges stood six feet tall, with a great bony, broad face that seemed to wear a perpetual snarl, as it looked out from under a closely cropped head of hair that appeared to have been trimmed by an unsteady barber wielding a pair of hedge trimmers. The belligerent appearance of his looks was matched by an equally antagonistic personality and he never hesitated to attack what he termed simply 'the interests' or the 'kept press.' He remained a controversial figure all his life. But even Bridges' enemies, who were numerous, gave him a certain grudging respect."

Robert became the President of the Port Commission in 1915. Burke continues to give us a capsule history of his tenure: "Bridges saw the conflict between capitalism and 'the people' as both inevitable and desirable, because only then, as Bridges saw it, could meaningful social change be brought about. He tended to be somewhat vain and looked upon himself as the spokesman of the economically deprived. [An example of Bridges' vanity was when he modestly had the Port's second ferry christened 'The Robert Bridges.' The ferry had an unfortunate career. It was in and out of the repair yard for one reason or another almost constantly until the Port turned it, along with the rest of their ferry business, over to King County in 1919. According to Jack Dillon, a student of Seattle's maritime history, in 1923 the ferry was re-engined and re-named the 'Mount Vernon' and enjoyed a long and successful career under various owners]. When the U.S. entered the First World War, and food prices sky-rocketed in Seattle, Bridges announced that the Port of Seattle would store the produce of local farmers, at minimal cost, at the Port's warehouses to insure that the farmers got a fair price for their crops. In the March election of 1917, Bridges placed on the ballot a proposal to make the Port's ferries free to the general public. He also led the fight in the same election to create a public market in Seattle that would bring essential food prices down to the level the average consumer could afford. Both propositions were defeated."

"Bridges proved to be as unyielding as the businessmen he opposed. In November of 1916, when the Supreme Court of Washington held that the Port could not issue literature in support of their own political proposals, Bridges obeyed, but he countered by refusing to issue any annuals for informative statements about the Port over the next three years, an action that considerably angered the Chamber of Commerce. When the Supreme Court also held, in June of 1915, that the Port Commission could not sell ice to fishermen, Bridges-- viewing the decision as one more attempt by big business to destroy the small businessman-- announced that he had no intention of obeying the order and the Port proceeded to continue to supply the essential ice to Seattle's fishermen." Burke also notes, "As Port Commisioner Bridges had always been very pro labor. He insisted that all longshoremen of the Port of Seattle be a member of a union-- doing so even against the advice of Port Counsel, who viewed the action as illegal."

Bridges joined future Ungovernor Bradford and others in organizing the Washington State Non-Partisan League in Feb. 1916. He was always an nominal Democrat at best, but he ran in the U.S. Senate primary against Ungovernor Turner as a member of that party in 1916. Turner, who also had a bit of history crossing party lines, was viewed as the Establishment candidate. As Richard Fisch writes, "Bridges campaigned for a government-sponsored merchant marine and a system of rural credits, and opposed preparedness as the forerunner of militarism. Turner's praise of the President was lavish, and the statewide reputation he had won of earlier years was too much for Bridges to overcome." Bridges took 9,628 (32.49%) votes to Turner's 20,002 (67.51%). Turner was then defeated handily in the general election by incumbent (former Progressive, now Republican) Miles Poindexter.

During the 1916 campaign Bridges underscored his opposition to a military buildup by not allowing Port of Seattle employees to march in a "Preparedness Day" parade. "Too many Scotchmen," he told one audience, "are dying in the trenches. I left Scotland with my eyes open, and nobody will ever shoulder a soldier on my back. What, I ask you, will the young man get by going in militarism?" An elderly man in the crowd shouted the answer, "A wooden leg!" according to historian Harvey O'Connor.

Shortly after his 1916 defeat Bridges sought a federal appointment. He was mentioned in the press as a candidate for the U.S. Shipping Board. No doubt his anti-war stance combined with the long list of formidable enemies he had acquired hurt his chances. He probably wasn't helped by his support of Ungovernor Bradford's losing bid for Seattle Mayor in 1918, where victor Ole Hanson had won by beating the drum of nationalism and attacked progessives as disloyal radicals.

Sensing the political tide was turning and finding himself in a position where he was outvoted, he resigned from the Port Commission in Aug. 1919. Padraic Burke writes of Robert's contribution to the history of the Port: "For all the faults of his personality, Bridges' contribution to the Port was immense. When the Port was under almost continuous criticism in the early years of its existence Bridges was frequently the Port's most eloquent defender. He consistently took the Port's case to the people of King County, where he and the Port were almost invariably sustained. Despite his criticism of the Seattle business community, he was a brilliant businessman for the Port. He criss-crossed the country, again and again, persuasively arguing the Port's case before groups of small and large businessmen, and he probably brought more business to the Port than any other individual during the first years of the Port's existence. Few Port Commissioners have matched the controversy he aroused nor the contribution he made."

When the 1920 gubernatorial campaign began to heat up, Bridges was in a unique position. Progressive Democrats wanted him to run as Dem. The Non-Partisan league asked him to run in the Republican primaries, and a new party, the Farmer-Labor Party which was growing nationally, asked him to run. The FLP's platform appealed to Robert and there was no doubt that once he joined he would immediately become the most recognizable FLP name on the ballot. FLP it would be. He felt running in either major party would be dishonest.

Once Bridges was nominated in Sept. 1920, the Democrats experienced a major defection from their progressive wing. Although a Republican victory was a foregone conclusion, the race for Governor really came down to Hart and Bridges.

The Seattle Union Record, the only major newspaper to endorse Bridges, had the following as a running column during the campaign:

What We Stand For
The Farmer-Labor Platform in Brief

The workers with hand and brain, in field and factory, demand sweeping changes, both political and economic. The old parties have clearly taken their stand against even allowing discussion of fundamental change. We have come together in the Farmer-Labor Party and adopt the following program:

Restore constitutional rights.
Reduce armaments; no compulsory training; no war without referendum.
Public ownership of public utilities, mines and water-powers.
A state bank, helping in home-building.
Equal rights for men and women, including state insurance for accident, unemployment, old age.
Labor's right to organize and labor's progress towards a share in management.
One dollar per day of service compensation for ex-service men.
A smaller legislature, chosen from districts more fairly divided.
Taxation of unearned increment in land values and exemption of all improvements and products of labor from taxation.

We recommend to the legislators elected by our party:

A consolidated State Labor Department.
Revision of election laws.
Laws encouraging co-operative and municipal marketing.
Home rule for cities of first and second class.
No long leases on tide-lands and harbor areas.
Better support for schools.
Indorsement of bone dry law.

You will note there is no mention of racial equality, even though it was supposedly in the official platform. There are reasons for that. Labor historian Jonathan Dembo has one of the better summations of the 1920 Washington State gubernatorial campaign that I have run across:

"In Washington, the Republicans merely needed to avoid taking strong positions to win. Their tactics worked to perfection. The Republican campaign was based on frequent, but vague, references to Hart's 'record,' slim as it was. They emphasized reform of the bureaucracy, aid for rural areas, and attacks on the radicalism of the FLP. The Republicans claimed that the FLP was being more help to the IWW than either farmers or labor. They also attempted to use ethnic divide and conquer tactics against the FLP."

"Robert Bridges and the FLP countered these charges by trying to link the Republicans to 'special monied interests,' and accusing them of trying to enslave workers and farmers through high railroad tariffs, among other means."

... "The most difficult problem the FLP faced, however, was that presented by the anti-Japanese issue. This issue, in various forms, was prominent in all the Pacific Coast states. An anti-Japanese initiative, to ban aliens ineligible for United States citizenship from purchasing land, or even acting as guardians for their American-born children, had narrowly failed to qualify for the 1920 ballot. When W.W. Black, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate accused Bridges of having leased some of his lands to two Japanese farmers, the FLP was placed in a difficult moral and political situation. Due to the onset of the economic recession anti-Japanese feeling was particularly strong among workingmen fearful of low-wage Japanese competition. At the same time many small farmers were also opposed to leasing or selling land to Japanese truck farmers since this under-cut already low agricultural prices. Similarly, many pro-soviet radicals had become very anti-Japanese as a result of Japanese attempts to exploit the Russian revolution by extending their influence in Siberia."

"The problem for the FLP arose from the fact that it had a racial equality 'principle' in its platform. The prudent position would have been to avoid taking a strong public stand on this issue. Yet when the Democrats did bring it in to the open, Bridges and the FLP courageously met it head on. Bridges came out against discrimination and alien exclusion laws. Brave as this was, it probably cost the FLP its last, slim, chances for victory in the election. It split the remaining forces in the FLP still further. One FLP state committeeman even refused to continue to support Bridges. It also provided welcome grist for the anti-FLP press. The Seattle Times took to referring to the FLP as the 'Japanese Labor Party," suggesting that Bridges should be expelled from the FLP for favoring 'throwing open America's gates to hordes of immigrants from Asia."

"The FLP forces, however, did not conduct a real education campaign on the issue. It made few attempts to justify its policy, morally justifiable though it was. Instead, the FLP tried to point out that leaders of other parties had done just as bad or worse. The pro-Bridges Seattle UR, for instance, charged that Black had leased hotel property to several Japanese. Bridges also explained that he had leased his land to the Japanese strictly as a wartime food production measure. At the same time, he argued, no race should suffer discrimination merely because it was industrious."

"The most serious consequence of the anti-Japanese uproar was that it upset the FLP's grand strategy of ignoring the Democrats and attacking the Republicans. It forced the FLP to devote its precious resources unproductively, attacking a party which could not win. The Republicans, or course, were not slow to take advantage of the situation ..."

"The FLP attempted, sporadically, to focus on the Republicans, but were unsuccessful. Such attempts did not succeed. On 27 October, when Parley P. Christensen, the National FLP's presidential candidate, arrived in Seattle to campaign, the reporters who confronted him were primarily interested in his position on immigration. In self-defense Christensen was forced to reveal that national FLP policy endorsed even stricter immigration laws."

In Olympia the two major newspapers were split, but neither favored Bridges. The Olympia Daily Recorder endorsed Hart, addding, "There is no need for mincing words. The I.W.W. and the radicals who have been breathing hate and revenge upon the forces of law and order in this state are for Bridges ..." The Recorder also endorsed Republican Congressman Albert Johnson, the infamous promoter of Eugenics and immigration restriction who had as a mentor a man who would later become one of Hitler's favorite Americans. Meanwhile, the Washington Standard, covering its final gubernatorial race after a long career, endorsed Judge Black. Although the Standard did make a weak reference to Bridges as a "radical," most of the editorial ire was aimed at Hart and the Republicans.

Considering the odds against him, Bridges fared amazingly well on Election Day. Running far ahead of his ticket, he placed second with 121,371 votes (30.10%), almost double what the Democrats gained. Bridges won Franklin and Kitsap counties, and placed a second in 25 others. Meanwhile, the voters of Pierce County sent three members of the FLP to the Legislature. It was apparent by the returns the FLP was more popular west of the Cascades and gained more votes from labor than from farmers.

After the election Bridges became the representative for the Seattle Longshoreman's Co-Operative and worked on his farm. He died after a brief illness at the Taylor-Lacey Hospital in Auburn, Dec. 2, 1921. Robert Bridges is buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Kent.

Without Bridges at the helm, the Washington Farmer-Labor Party hobbled along for a brief time but fell flat. It was an uneasy alliance of different progressive groups to begin with, and there was no one of Bridges' stature as a leader to bring them all together. By the 1924 election the same forces would once again be split up into several different parties.