Tacoma’s Water Works Scandal
A grand jury struggles to uncover the truth behind allegations of bribery and corruption in Tacoma's municipal water system purchase.
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.
Notwithstanding that the water-steal boodlers and their organ have been yelping about the extravagance and folly of the county grand jury, that body has shown cause why its life should be prolonged, and the court has granted it a little more time to find out who were the bribe givers and bribe takers in unloading the water works upon the city at two or three prices. The water boodlers are afraid the jury will learn something. Pretty nearly everybody who could furnish the desired information has been seized with forgetfulness, and the jury doesn't seem to be pressing them, either. The thousands of dollars admitted to have been spent in advancing the interest of the sale will probably cut no figure before the jury. That isn't considered bribery, but there are a few cases of bribery that will require a double coat of whitewash.
“They were satisfied so long as the grand jury got just enough evidence to mix well with whitewash.”
Tacoma’s 1894 municipal graft struggle over utility control mirrors the ongoing civic debates in modern Washington regarding the privatization of public infrastructure and the influence of money in local government.
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