The Guggenheim-Morgan Industrial Play for Tacoma
A proposed $20 million expansion of the Tacoma smelter and a new fleet of ships aim to cement a copper monopoly on the Pacific coast.
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.
On the best of authority, the Times can say today that the Guggenheim-Morgan syndicate has already completed arrangements to expend $9,000,000 in the erection of the greatest copper products plant in the world, to be operated in connection with the Tacoma smelter. This project is one feature of a general plan which includes a line of lake vessels to be operated on the inside passage to Cordova, the assimilation of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha line of steamers, and other ventures, totaling $20,000,000 in expenditures. The Tacoma project will be fed by the 'Bonanza' copper mine, the terminus of the new railroad being constructed from Cordova. It is said the plan involves bringing ships recently turned over by James J. Hill of the Great Northern railroad around the Horn, placing them under Japanese register to utilize Japanese ship subsidies for transporting copper matte and coal. The syndicate aims for a virtual monopoly of the Pacific coast coal trade. Work on the plant, which will give employment to 18,000, will begin as soon as the Antwerp boats, transporting German cement, begin landing their cargoes.
“The carrying out of the plan will give the Guggenheims a virtual monopoly of the coal trade of the Pacific coast.”
This article highlights the massive industrial consolidation era that defined Tacoma’s early 20th-century economy. The ASARCO smelter, which became a focal point of this industrial might, left a legacy of environmental damage that continues to be a central topic in local environmental remediation and redevelopment debates today.
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