The Battle for Cheaper Lights

When the present city administration, with Mayor Campbell at the head, took charge of city affairs four years ago, the Tacoma Railway & Power Company was furnishing the current for the electric light system and charging the city about 12 mills per kilowatt hour. The service furnished was very poor; many people were obliged to give up electric lights entirely. The mayor at once took up the matter of securing better service at a less exorbitant rate, though violently opposed by a majority of the city council. By 1901, the commissioner of public works had received bids from four companies. The bid of the Tacoma Cataract Company at 1.2 cents per kilowatt hour—three-tenths of a mill less than the city was then paying—was accepted by the administration. The Tacoma Railway & Power Company, fearing the loss of its graft, obtained an injunction, taking the matter into the Superior Court of Pierce County. Judge Huston eventually ruled in favor of the mayor, finding no evidence of fraud in the contract award. Subsequently, the rate was reduced to 8.4 mills, nearly half of the previous cost, despite the city consuming double the amount of electricity.