The Battle for the Transport Outfits
A scramble between Seattle and Tacoma merchants for the lucrative business of supplying the government transport vessel 'Albert' reveals the early friction of regional economic rivalry.
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 transport Albert will be fitted in Seattle and not in Tacoma, as papers there have claimed. The vessel is now on the way here, and contract for refitting will begin as soon as she arrives. The transport Albert is the only transport that has been in Tacoma up to the present time. Competitive bids from Seattle and Tacoma firms for supplying galvanized iron, sheet iron, and nails were opened yesterday afternoon at 1 o'clock, and the bid of the Seattle Hardware Company was accepted. The hubmen will advertise for bids today to furnish the Quartermaster Department with tons of bran, 15 tons to be delivered in Seattle, and 30 in Tacoma.
“The transport Albert will be fitted in Seattle and not in Tacoma, as papers there have claimed.”
This 1900 report on government procurement captures the birth of the intense economic competition between Seattle and Tacoma—a rivalry that persists today in everything from port shipping volume to regional infrastructure investment. It serves as a reminder that Seattle's dominance in local trade was never accidental, but the result of aggressive municipal advocacy and successful bidding wars.
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