Midnight Raid for Water Pipes
The City of Tacoma seizes infrastructure from a private utility company in a daring, late-night maneuver.
At midnight the board of public works had stolen a march on the old light and water company by removing from its premises $2,000 worth of pipe, boilers, and other equipment, which the company refused to turn over to the city as part of the electric light and water plant purchase. About 12 o'clock, sixty men and twenty teams went quietly to work hauling away the property and placing it on city premises. President Hosmer, of the water company, arrived while the work was going on. He cursed the workmen, calling them thieves and marauders. He brought counsel, but no injunction could be secured to prevent the removal of the property. Over sixty tons of water pipe were among the articles taken. Hosmer, with the water company's attorney, Galusha Parsons, accused the acting chief of police, Devereux, with failure to suppress stealing of the company's property. Devereux had men on hand to see that there was not any breach of the peace, but as possession of the property involved legal points, he refused to act. After the property had been transferred, several policemen and city employees were detailed to guard it.
“He cursed the workmen, calling them thieves and marauders.”
This 1893 standoff over infrastructure ownership highlights the fierce municipal struggles of the era as cities moved to seize control of vital utilities. Today, while ownership disputes still exist, they more often center on digital infrastructure or public-private partnerships rather than physical pipes under the cloak of night.
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