Seattle Merchants Raise $150,000 to Bypass Monopoly Rails
Prominent citizens meet at the offices of McNaught, Ferry, McNaught & Mitchell to secure a standard-gauge rail link to the Green River coalfields.
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A large number of prominent citizens met at the office of McNaught, Ferry, McNaught & Mitchell last night to hear the report of the committee appointed on the proposed railroad. H. L. Yesler was called to the chair and Thomas Burke read the committee report. It was resolved that the citizens of Seattle, to ensure the construction of a standard gauge railroad from the city by way of Renton up the valley of the Cedar River to the Green River coalfields, and to connect with the Cascade Division of the Northern Pacific Railroad, would raise a $150,000 subsidy. This committee is to canvass the various property holders of the city and receive subscriptions. Mr. Yesler will head the list with ten thousand dollars, and the firm of McNaught, Ferry & McNaught will follow with eight thousand dollars. The committee is instructed to not let up until the necessary $150,000 is raised.
“A party who runs a paper in New Tacoma boasts that the people of Seattle will have to sell their mills, their waterfront and exhaust the funds in their banks to raise $150,000, when the fact is that our people can raise the money in ten hours, and never feel it.”
The aggressive boosterism shown here to build regional infrastructure mirrors Seattle's long history of civic-led rail and transit projects. In 1883, the goal was accessing the Green River coalfields to ensure Seattle's commercial dominance; today, similar coalitions form around light rail expansion to secure the city's future growth.
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