The Franchise Fight: Seattle’s Battle for Control of the Streets
As the Corporation Committee prepares to report on the street railway franchise, a fierce debate erupts over whether the city should sell its public assets to private developers for 40 years or keep them in public hands.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The corporation committee has made it clear that it will not recommend granting a 40-year franchise to the Seattle-First Street Railway Company, nor will it report on the matter for as long as there is desire to maintain public control. In fact, the members of the committee are in favor of a 20-year term, and possibly a 30-year term.
This statement was made to The Star this morning by J.A. Jamieson, chairman of the corporation committee: "As a committee, we do not intend to do anything with the franchise until we have consulted public opinion. Mass meetings will probably be held, and the press of the city will furnish information for the public. Many persons are opposed to selling franchises; others are in favor of public ownership."
J.H. Furth, one of the directors at the present consolidated road, was seen by a reporter, and he was asked what the company would do if the year franchise were not granted. "It is perfectly proper that the public be given a chance to discuss the matter. We are not afraid of any opinion, for the more people discuss the matter the more they will realize that granting franchises is better than public ownership." He is convinced that the company will accept less than forty years' franchise if the franchise is granted; will, then, join bonds, and to float such an issue successfully, year franchise is required. If such a franchise is asked to be granted, we will be compelled to drop the matter. We must not pay a 20-year bond on a 30-year franchise. No street railway franchise for short terms are safe. For instance, the Union Avenue Company tried to sell a 20-year bond on a 15-year franchise in 1902 and never sold one.
WHAT SHALL BE HER FATE? Washington, D.C., May 11.—The future disposition of the battleship Oregon is still in doubt. Members of the board of naval bureau chiefs say that it will cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars to fit her out, and then she would not be of the best use. It has been suggested that she be allowed to remain at Norfolk Navy Yard until Congress shall decide what to do with her.
This 1903 debate over streetcar franchises mirrors modern struggles over public transit funding and privatization in Seattle. Just as residents then worried about selling off the 'right of way' for decades, today's citizens grapple with whether light rail expansion should be publicly owned or managed by private contractors, highlighting a century-long tension between civic control and corporate efficiency.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.