The Railway 'Bottleneck': Tacoma's Fight Against Northern Pacific
Citizens and the Chamber of Commerce declare war on the Northern Pacific Railroad for prioritizing Seattle and isolating Tacoma travelers.
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.
There are comparatively few persons in Tacoma who realize the extent to which the discrimination of the Northern Pacific against this city and in favor of Seattle is carried. A few days ago a citizen of Tacoma, stopping over in Aberdeen, noticed a Northern Pacific advertisement there which gave the time of trains from Gray's Harbor to Seattle. Tacoma wasn't in it at all! The whole intent of the advertisement was to ignore Tacoma and advertise Seattle. This is only one instance out of many which might be cited to show the lack of regard which the Northern Pacific holds for the city which it thinks it has securely 'bottled up.' A traveler for Tacoma on the North Coast Limited, arriving at Auburn late in the afternoon, has the privilege of getting off at a ramshackle junction point, without a roof to keep off the rain, or lights to make the place decent, and take a jerkwater train for Tacoma. Or he can remain on the Limited, go down to Seattle, stay there for an hour and a half and then get pulled through on the same train for Tacoma, arriving here at midnight. This rank discrimination against Tacoma was called to the attention of President Elliott of the Northern Pacific last fall by the Chamber of Commerce, but no steps were ever taken to remedy the condition. Is it any wonder that the wide-awake people in Tacoma are getting their fighting blood up?
“Is it any wonder that the wide-awake people in Tacoma are getting their fighting blood up?”
Tacoma's historic struggle for regional relevance against the economic pull of Seattle remains a primary narrative in the city's identity. While the railroad 'bottleneck' is long gone, the city's current debate over transit infrastructure and its position within the Puget Sound economy echoes these same feelings of being 'bottled up' by larger regional forces.
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