The Fight for Control of the Sound
How local merchants and steamship operators are resisting monopolistic tactics in the Puget Sound trade.
Seattle has established its importance among the towns of the Sound chiefly by the many lines of steam and sail vessels that run between this city and every village from Olympia to Whatcom. It is the headquarters of all trade on the Sound. Recently, there has been an effort made by the great monopoly that has this country by the throat to destroy the many competing lines of vessels that make Seattle their headquarters. The object was to control the whole trade of the Sound. A move in this direction was made some time ago, when the fares and freights on the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company's steamer Idaho were cut down one half. Up to the present time, this project has not succeeded. The people here and all along the Sound have great fear of surrendering all their commerce to one corporation. They have refused to withdraw their patronage from the independent lines, even though fares are twice as high as the monopoly's steamer. The effort to freeze out competition is so far an expensive failure.
“There has been an effort made by the great monopoly that has this country by the throat to destroy the many competing lines of vessels.”
This 1884 account of corporate consolidation and predatory pricing on the Puget Sound reflects the perennial anxiety of Seattle business owners regarding tech-monopolies and corporate influence. The fear that a 'commercial despotism' would dictate the region's economy remains a potent theme in today's local civic debates.
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