The Shadow Cabinet of the Tacoma Railway & Power Company
A critical report on corporate influence over municipal government and the 'nose counting' of city officials.
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.
The Tacoma Railway & Power company continues to pursue a meddlesome course in municipal affairs. It is now seeking to organize the new city council, so that committees will be named favorable to its own interests and antagonistic to the interests of T. J. Felt, the Eastern capitalist who is threatening to invade the street railway field in this city. Incidentally, the T. R. & P. wants to be in a position in the council where it can dictate terms on questions of light and power. The T. R. & P. has been in the habit of counting noses in the city council after each election to see how many friends it could muster. A solicitor for the company will call upon each councilman to exhibit 'collars'—well-made, warranted not to wear out, each with a silver plate where the name 'Fido' or 'Sport' can be placed. The public and The Times will keep an eye on the Fidos and the Sports in the city council.
“They never wag their bushy tails, but always wear a hangdog look and clink around with their tails between their legs.”
This 1904 editorial mirrors modern anxieties regarding corporate lobbying and 'regulatory capture' where private interests dictate public infrastructure policy. Tacoma's history of utility wars reminds us that the tension between private monopolies and public control is a permanent fixture of civic life.
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