Tacoma's Tide-Land Fight: Who Gets to Draw the Harbor Line?

Tacoma, April 4.—Special.—The appointment by Gov. McGraw today of W. H. Fife and G. L. Holmes as members of the local board of tide land appraisers gives general satisfaction. The new members, with E. M. Hunt, the member retained, organized today by electing Mr. Holmes chairman; Colin Mackintosh, examiner; and John Marden, secretary.

It was on March 22 last that Gov. McGraw wrote to Charles T. Ihlman and John Huntington, stating he was dissatisfied with the progress made by the old board, and asking that they forward their resignations by return mail. No answer was made to this communication, and the removal of the gentlemen followed.

The old board of appraisers organized September 8, 1894. November 25 an injunction was sued out by the city restraining them from proceeding with the work in the harbor of Tacoma. This left them with but about twelve or fifteen acres to work on, as that is all the tide land there is in the county outside the city. They were still working when the two members were removed by the governor. The total expenses to April 1 were $13,569.96, of which between $7,000 and $8,000 has been incurred since the injunction was filed.

The appointment of Mr. Holmes was on the indorsement of the present city administration as well as on the recommendation of prominent citizens. A list of five other names was also recommended to the governor by the administration from which to choose the other member. W. H. Fife and S. R. Balkwell were two of the five. Fife was chosen.

Having, as is believed, made a step forward in securing tide lands to the city, the administration proposes to follow up the work. City Attorney Wickersham goes to Olympia tomorrow to secure dismissal in the supreme court of the portion of the present injunction which refers to platting the tide lands in this harbor. This will leave it in force so far as fixing the harbor line.

The question yet to be decided is whether or not the state land commission has the right to lay out harbor lines. City Attorney Wickersham holds not, and in his legal researches has hit upon an interesting point. He says that when the United States supreme court upheld the harbor lines as fixed by the old harbor line commission it definitely pronounced them legal ones, and a subsequent attempt on the part of the state land commission to fix the lines is therefore void. In the case of Tacoma the maps were not signed by the old commission, hence the point does not apply here. “But in Seattle,” said Mr. Wickersham this evening, “it does apply. Should any citizen seek to set aside the lines fixed by the state land commission there he could do so.”