City Council Demands Better Cable Car Service
Tacoma citizens are fed up with broken-down, slow streetcars, and the City Council is finally demanding that the company stop cutting corners on passenger safety.
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.
From the preliminary action taken by the city council last evening it appears quite evident that the flimsy excuse given by the street railway people for the present wretched service on the cable line is not to be accepted. The citizens of Tacoma object to being made the victims of little 'pneumonia cars' this winter, just because the street car management wants to operate with a weakened cable until it can get another strand twisted in to repair that rope. The citizens of Tacoma demand good service from the street railways. They pay well for good service and they are entitled to it. The present service on the cable line is insufficient, intolerable and without valid excuse.
“The citizens of Tacoma object to being made the victims of little 'pneumonia cars' this winter.”
A century later, the debate over public transit infrastructure and corporate accountability continues to shape Tacoma's civic life. While the 'pneumonia cars' of 1904 have been replaced by modern buses and Light Rail, the core grievance—that residents pay for and deserve reliable public services—remains as relevant to today's commuters as it was to the trolley riders of the early 20th century.
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