The Fight to Save Tacoma’s U.S. Engineer Office
Tacoma boosters scramble to keep the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers branch office from moving to Seattle.
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.
Seattle is again after another of Tacoma's offices. It has just leaked out that she is determined to remove the branch office of the United States engineer from this city. In fact, the movement has been worked through until the office has been ordered closed. Major Couch, the engineer in charge, has recommended that the office here, presided over by Ricksecker, be closed, and that the work be moved to Seattle. He has had this recommendation approved by the head engineer of the government and steps are now under way to close the office. The Boosters today sent a hot telegram to Congressman Cushman voicing an emphatic protest.
“Seattle is again after another of Tacoma's offices.”
Inter-city rivalry between Tacoma and Seattle for federal and corporate investment was a defining feature of the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century. Today, this legacy persists in the regional competition for infrastructure and economic development funding.
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