The $10,000 Price of a Power Line: Tacoma’s Battle for the Right to Flow
A jury awards the City of Tacoma $10,000 in damages against the Puget Sound Power Company, settling a bitter legal dispute over who owns the right to use the county road for power transmission lines.
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.
TACOMA, June 3.—In line with the verdict of the jury, the Puget Sound Power Company, by its attorneys, State & Murray, paid $10,000 into City Clerk Billings at the superior court, the amount of damages awarded the city in the proceedings for right of way over the county road from the King County line to the City of Tacoma. The damages were $9,500. The jury fixed $9,500 and costs $500 making the whole amount up to $10,000.
This 1903 legal battle over infrastructure rights mirrors modern disputes between utility companies and municipalities regarding easements for high-voltage lines or fiber optics. It highlights the enduring tension between private corporate interests in expanding their reach and local governments trying to protect public land and revenue.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.