A Push for Independent Telephone Lines to Vashon Island
An independent operator seeks a foothold in Tacoma to break the grip of existing monopolies.
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.
Bernard Devin, representing the Skagit Farmers' Mutual Telephone Company, was in Tacoma today to propose establishing communication between Tacoma and Vashon Island. A major obstacle is the lack of an independent telephone company in Tacoma that can interface with their lines. 'The company that I represent is an independent company, and we can't do business with the Sunset people,' said Devin. They have already laid a cable between Seattle and Vashon and have secured 80 contracts on the island. Residents of Quartermaster Harbor and the southern end of the island are eager for a direct line to Tacoma, but remain blocked by the lack of an independent partner in the city.
“We can't do business with the Sunset people.”
The 'Sunset' telephone company (an early Pacific Telephone & Telegraph predecessor) held a tight monopoly, and this struggle for network interoperability echoes modern debates over net neutrality and the gatekeeping of digital infrastructure.
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