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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1904 | 39 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1909 | 37 |
77 stories matching system
- Tacoma Weighs Water Security
City council members reject Seattle’s gravity water model in favor of local, closed-well systems at South Tacoma.
- Tacoma’s Mayor Ousted After Turbulent Term
Mayor L. D. Campbell reflects on a bitter defeat fueled by corporate opposition, machine politics, and internal disputes over the 'sliding system' of management.
- The Great Tacoma Water Grift
How a corrupt water monopoly swindled the city out of nearly $1.5 million for a tainted water supply, leaving residents with a decade of filth.
- City Council Faces Backlash Over Civil Service Repeal
Tacoma’s city council attempts to dismantle the civil service system in favor of the old patronage 'spoils' system, sparking an immediate call for voter registration and reform.
- The Price of Tacoma’s Water
As Tacoma looks toward the Green River gravity system, Mayor Wright tallies the high cost of the existing well-water infrastructure.
- Tacoma’s Transit Expansion Plans
A new street railway system proposed by the Commercial Trust Company aims to connect the waterfront with the Narrows, South Tacoma, and Point Defiance.
- The Great Tacoma Water Flimflam
A look back at the 1890 council scandal that left the city with a mountain of debt and a useless water system.
- The Deadly Water at Clover Creek
For years, the city has ignored the dangerous, contaminated state of the municipal water supply, preferring half-measures over a permanent solution.
- The Standard Oil Monopoly Comes to Tacoma
A secret land grab on the tide-flats marks the arrival of a massive industrial alliance between the Standard Oil company and transcontinental railroads.
- Police Pawn Shop Registry Catches Thief
An early technological shift in policing—the 'watch-book' system—allows detectives to track down stolen goods in record time.
- The City's Telephone Monopoly Debate
Tacoma’s business community remains divided over whether to welcome a second telephone provider to break the Sunset company’s grip on the city.
- Tacoma Takes the Reins of Interurban Rail
Consolidation moves the entire Interurban Electric system operations and repair shops from Kent to Tacoma.
- The Birth of a Utility Titan: The Stone & Webster Merger
A new $8,000,000 holding company, the Puget Sound Power Company, has been incorporated to consolidate regional electric and streetcar systems.
- Tacoma’s Water Infrastructure on the Brink
A surprise inspection reveals crumbling pumping stations and a mounting $1,000 repair bill just to keep the city's water flowing.
- City’s Water Funding Hits a Wall
High-interest demands from local banks threaten the city's $250,000 project to upgrade the Clover Creek water system.
- The Shadowy 'Sailor Boarding House' Racket
Diplomats gather in Tacoma to confront the exploitative system of boarding house masters who held a monopoly on crew procurement for Pacific ships.
- The Price of a 'Wide Open' Town
A citizen accuses the County Attorney of enabling a graft scheme that granted a single operator a lucrative monopoly on slot machines while allegedly shaking down other business owners.
- Tacoma's 1904 Election Pits Mayor Against Saloons
As the municipal election approaches, the city finds itself divided between Mayor Campbell’s 'clean' town and George P. Wright’s 'wide open' policy.
- Merchants Declare War on Trading Stamps
Local business owners organize to reject the popular, yet controversial, loyalty program system.
- The Price of Being a 'Wide Open' Town
Tacoma’s city officials are formalizing a system of monthly 'bail' payments for gambling house owners, effectively legalizing the industry through a protection racket.
- The Battle to Protect Civil Service Reform
Tacoma’s City Council faces a showdown as political machines push to dismantle merit-based municipal hiring.
- The Fight for Tacoma’s Taps
As the city council hunts for a reliable water source, aggressive machinery lobbyists swarm City Hall, complicating the push for clean, deep-well water.
- Tacoma’s Theaters Under Fire Safety Review
Building inspectors find local stages lacking modern fire protections, prompting calls for new safety ordinances.
- The Parents Said Tacoma's Schools Were Failing. The Typesetter Who Set Their Letter Answered Back.
A frustrated parent writes in to say the city schools teach paper-folding instead of arithmetic; a linotype operator at the same paper — and a Tacoma graduate himself — replies that the trouble may lie closer to home.
- The False Solution to Homelessness
A radical critique of the 1909 railroad industry's plan to solve unemployment by mass imprisonment.