The Railroad Says No: No Waterfront for Tacoma
Northern Pacific's attorney tells the city council flatly that the railway will not hand over a foot of Narrows shoreline as the price of its franchise — and dares the council to refuse.
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 city of Tacoma will not get any waterfront on the Narrows from the Northern Pacific railway.
"Do you think we are going to buy waterfront from Hill and give it to the city? We are not going to do anything of the kind," said Attorney George Reid for the N. P. last night before the council, when President Lynn insisted that the railway provide some waterfront for the city for free docks on the Narrows before it gets its franchise for the Narrows line.
Reid said openly that if they got any waterfront they would keep it and the city would not get a chance at it.
President Lynn led the fight for concessions for the city's benefit. He said this was the most valuable franchise the city had ever been called on to give to anybody and it was worth something.
But Jim Hill's representatives made it plain they would not give anything in property for it.
The council finally compromised by declaring the N. P. must put a depot on the Narrows when the street railways run within half a mile of there. Lynn objected to this. He thought the Hill influence could keep the street cars away and the people would never get the depot.
The rest of the councilmen, however, thought there would be no trouble and the franchise will probably pass next Wednesday night.
“Do you think we are going to buy waterfront from Hill and give it to the city? We are not going to do anything of the kind.”
In 1909 Tacoma was trading away a street-railway franchise across the Narrows and asking the railroad for a piece of shoreline in return; the Northern Pacific's answer was that it would buy land if it wanted it and keep it. The same argument — what the public gets back when private capital builds on the water — resurfaces today in fights over Point Ruston, the Thea Foss Waterway and Port of Tacoma lease deals. Then, as now, the city's leverage was the franchise, and the corporation's was patience.
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