The D Street Market Under Fire
Tacoma city officials face criticism for allegedly targeting a popular public market to appease a 'grocery trust.'
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.
Is Market Master Martenis careless in running the D Street public market, or are city officials simply hunting for flaws to kill a project that helps lower prices? Ever since it started, there have been wails from the grocery combine whose price schedule was being disturbed. Now, councilmen howl because booths were put up, because refuse was in the street, or because stalls are on the street parking. Commissioner McGregor and Health Officer Sargentich have been constantly urged to visit the place to complain. There are three or four councilmen who have made it their business to find fault with the market, and their complaints have a strong resemblance to the kicks of the grocery combine. While the market needs proper maintenance, the council should stop this continual clamor aimed at making it unpopular. Tacoma needs this market, and since its establishment, nearly $100,000 has been invested in nearby business property. The city should offer conservative statesmanship, not destructive howls.
“On the public market question, conservative statesmanship instead of destructive howls are what is needed.”
Public markets in Tacoma have long been a flashpoint for tensions between city bureaucracy, local farmers, and established commercial interests. This 1909 struggle over the D Street market—now part of the downtown corridor—mirrors modern debates about how municipal codes often hinder rather than help local food accessibility and urban commerce.
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