The Battle for the Soul of Tacoma’s Fifth Ward
Local politicians and reformers face off over the 'wide-open' versus 'closed' town debate in a heated campaign meeting.
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.
Republican campaign speakers addressed the citizens of the Fifth Ward last evening in the basement of the Horace Mann school. In spite of the slush and disagreeable weather, about 150 citizens were there. Mayor Campbell, John A. Shackleford, and Louis F. Hart were among those advocating for a more moral city. Shackleford argued that the paramount issue was whether Tacoma should be a 'wide-open' town or a 'closed' town, while Mayor Campbell defended his record, claiming that his administration had saved taxpayers $200,000 annually and had successfully removed the influence of grafters and gamblers from city business. Campbell also explicitly attacked the local newspapers, the News and Ledger, for supporting schemes that favored corporate profits over the taxpayers' interests.
“We want such a city that Brother Rader will say that it is a good place to live in and raise children.”
The century-old conflict between 'wide-open' city governance and moral reform echoes the perennial debates in Tacoma over zoning, policing, and the influence of outside developers, reminding us that local politics in Tacoma has always been a struggle for who defines the city's character.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.