Contractor Arrested for Unpermitted Street Work
A Tacoma contractor faces legal trouble for unauthorized excavation in his neighborhood.
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.
Charles D. Elmore, a contractor living at 4741 South X street, was arrested late yesterday afternoon, charged with excavating the streets in his neighborhood without the permission of the city officials. When taken to jail, Elmore refused to give the police an explanation and he was released until 2 o'clock this afternoon, when he appeared before Judge Griffin in the police court.
“Elmore refused to give the police an explanation and he was released until 2 o'clock this afternoon.”
Regulations regarding public right-of-ways remain a common source of conflict between residents, contractors, and city hall. This story captures the early 20th-century friction between rapid, unregulated neighborhood development and the city's attempts to formalize public infrastructure.
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