The City’s Push for More Rail
Tacoma’s business leaders and politicians unite in a high-stakes campaign to bring more transcontinental railroads to the city.
Among the signers of The Times' 'collective letters' to Harriman, Hill and Earling is United States Senator Addison Foster, who added his name last Saturday, stating: 'What this city needs above all other things is MORE RAILROADS.' Today Mayor George P. Wright also signed, noting, 'Tacoma certainly needs more railroads, and must manage to get them to come here.' The effort, which represents three-fourths of the city's freight tonnage, is a purely business proposition backed by the city’s major shippers, including the St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber company. The Times will hold the letters at its office until Tuesday evening to allow remaining business concerns a final opportunity to add their names before the letters are sent to the railroad presidents.
“What this city needs above all other things is MORE RAILROADS.”
This 1904 campaign highlights Tacoma's early 20th-century obsession with infrastructure as the primary driver of economic growth. The city's reliance on the Northern Pacific railway, and the subsequent fight to diversify rail options, echoes modern municipal struggles to secure and manage the transportation corridors that define regional commerce.
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