The Northern Pacific Railway's 'Double Cross' of Tacoma
Local boosters vow to fight for recognition after the railroad cancels a promised tourism advertisement promoting Mt. Tacoma at the behest of Seattle interests.
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 Northern Pacific Railway company has again double-crossed Tacoma and discriminated against this city. Some time ago, when Mr. Charlton was in town, he was asked to include in the advertisements for the A-Y-P exposition being sent out by the road this year, as one of the attractions of this section: 'Paradise Valley, Rainier Park and Mt. Tacoma (Rainier) from Tacoma.' Mr. Charlton submitted this to President Elliott, who O.K.'d the proposition with his signature and even struck out the 'Rainier' in parentheses. It was agreed with Tacoma this should go in the advertising. It was all settled. But Seattle heard of it. For fear Tacoma would get some credit and benefit from the advertisement, they objected, and their objections overruled the expressed promise of the advertising agent and the president of the Northern Pacific railway. President L.W. Pratt of the Boosters has received a letter from Charlton saying the advertisement would not appear, owing to the opposition. To say the Boosters were incensed is putting it mildly. Dudley Eshelman suggested at once a boycott on the whole Jim Hill system. As a result, a movement was started by which the Tacoma population is to be aroused to demand the proper government recognition of the rightful name of the great mountain, after which this city is named, and to give Seattle a chase that will let them know they have a fight on hand.
“For fear Tacoma would get some credit and some benefit from the advertisement, they objected, and their objections overruled the expressed promise.”
The 'Mountain Name' dispute was a decades-long civic obsession in Tacoma, reflecting the town's constant anxiety about being overshadowed by its northern neighbor. Today, while 'Mount Rainier' is the federal standard, the local pride captured here still ripples through Tacoma's fierce insistence on its own unique identity within the Puget Sound region.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.