The Secret Railroad Push for Tacoma’s Tideflats
Speculators and insiders track the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad’s massive move to secure Tacoma’s waterfront for a new industrial empire.
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 is not the slightest doubt that the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad is behind the pending deals in Tacoma tide lands. The Milwaukee road has been preparing for this move for over two years, and the time for action has now come. The company has $25,000,000 ready to put into the deal. That the Tacoma Eastern is to be part of the system is evident. Mr. Ladd, of the Ladd Tilton bank, Portland, has an interest in the Tacoma Eastern and is closely connected with the Milwaukee road. There is little reason to doubt the Milwaukee road will be in Tacoma in two years. It is pointed out that the advent of the Harriman forces in Tacoma would be the means of building up an immense flour trade here, and the probability of getting that wheat shipped here would result in the building of large flour mills.
“The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road will be in Tacoma in two years.”
The struggle for control of Tacoma's tideflats shaped the city's industrial geography for the next century. Today, the Port of Tacoma remains a major economic engine, reflecting these same historic tensions between private rail interests and public infrastructure goals.
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