The Eighteenth Promise of Mr. Savage
Olympia's street railway president vows a coal-oil motor, fifteen-minute service, and an Eastside extension—mostly, the paper suspects, for real estate.
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.
George Marvin Savage, president of the Olympia Street Railway Company (Nos. 2 and 4 painted red and yellow and spotted with mud) says his company placed $50,000 worth of bonds thirty days ago, 'but have not been making any blow about it.' They have been keeping it dark in order to surprise the people with a coal oil motor which will be put on the line about the 1st of March, and after a trial of thirty days, if the city council concludes it is a failure, the company has an option on a cheap electric motor, which costs two cents a mile only. If this, too, proves a failure, Mr. Savage will probably go to Oregon and buy some more mules.
Mr. Savage promises a fifteen-minute service as far south as Eighteenth street and as far north on the Eastside as the city limits extend. The latter extension is for real estate purposes only. This is the eighteenth promise of Mr. Savage with reference to the extension, purification, consolidation and future growth of No. 2 and No. 4 of the 'bob-tail' line. Let us pray that the great railway magnate is approaching the truth this time.
“Let us pray that the great railway magnate is approaching the truth this time.”
Transit extensions justified by real estate dreams, and officials skeptical of grand promises, could be lifted from a modern Olympia development debate. The 'bob-tail' line's eighteenth promise is a reminder that infrastructure boosterism has a long local history.
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