Tacoma’s Telephone War: A Council Gridlock Over Modernization
A deadlocked city council clashes over an automatic telephone franchise, pitting progress against the fear of a 'double service' nuisance.
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Some members of the city council don't want to see Tacoma get out of the rut and break away from the moss-covered one-corporation idea. On the proposition to indefinitely postpone further action on the ordinance granting a franchise to the Independent Telephone company, there was a tie vote, seven against seven. That leaves the matter just where it was. The debate grew heated, with Councilman Read arguing that the city needed competition, while Councilman Lamborn claimed a double service was a nuisance and an unnecessary expense for merchants. Manager Sands of the rival Sunset Telephone company accused proponents of the new franchise of lying, leading to a tense exchange. The new company pledged to install automatic telephones to eliminate wait times and busy signals, promising lower rates through market competition.
“If we want to continue to be a nice horse town, all right, let's knock this out. But, with all due respect to the other company, I say we need this new company.”
This 1904 debate over telecommunications competition echoes modern-day battles over municipal broadband and fiber-optic infrastructure. Even then, Tacoma struggled with the tension between wanting state-of-the-art 'automatic' technology and resisting the disruption of established utility monopolies.
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