Railroad Tycoon Weighs In on Tacoma’s Future
C.B. Wright, former Northern Pacific president, talks shop on the ‘Hunt System,’ the Great Northern’s expansion, and his unexpected desire to see the city take control of the water works.
C.B. Wright, ex-president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, spoke at length in Tacoma regarding the Northern Pacific, the Hunt system of roads, the Great Northern, and the proposed sale of the Tacoma Light and Water Company’s plant. Wright, who has reached 'three score years and ten,' expressed a surprising sentiment for a financier: that the city should own its own utility works. He argued that municipal ownership allows a city to assist industries in their infancy, something private corporate management might ignore. He even intimated that he would like the credit for turning the plant over to the city, despite rumors that he was holding out for a higher price.
“Every city, just as soon as it is able, should own its own water and light works.”
Wright’s discourse on public utility ownership echoes the perennial Seattle-area debate over public vs. private infrastructure. His belief that private utility owners would prioritize profit over industry incubation sounds remarkably contemporary to current discussions regarding local economic development and public services.
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