Steamboat Monopoly Sparks Outrage on the Sound
A passenger fare hike between Fairhaven and Seattle has riders and business leaders accusing steamboat companies of price-fixing.
The story, cleaned up
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For some time past there have been rumors of a combination or pool formed by the several steamboat companies on the sound, and yesterday these rumors took tangible shape. The price of passage between Fairhaven and Seattle has been advanced to $1.50, and between Fairhaven and Tacoma to $2.00. At once there was a cry of indignation raised, but the patrons of the steamers were powerless. A steamboat man, when asked if a raise in the passenger fare had been made, said 'Yes, the companies have formed a pool and rates have been advanced. The companies were carrying passengers at a rate made during a rate war, and there was no money in the old price.' A representative business man disagreed, stating, 'The companies have been making a good thing out of the business at the old rates. The freight business alone makes enough money to more than pay all expenses and a fair interest on the money invested, and the passenger list is clear profit. You can look out for an opposition line on this route; no company or combination can have a monopoly of the business, as long as there are so many boats that can be utilized at this time.'
“The companies say they should be put on an equal basis with the railroads, and that is foolishness. They have no road to build and keep up at a great expense.”
The tension between corporate consolidation and the public good is a recurring feature of the Puget Sound economy. Today's debates over transit affordability and ferry capacity echo the same frustrations residents had in 1890, when they relied on private steamboat 'pools' to move between growing industrial hubs.
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