Tacoma’s Merry Municipal Mayhem
While Seattle navigates its own growing pains, its 'younger sister' Tacoma finds itself in a state of total civic disorder, from impeached marshals to liquor license wars.
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.
Tacoma, following the lead of her older sister, Seattle, is rent with troubles; meetings are held several nights each week, the Council is assailed, and there is a very merry time all around. The News speaks of it in this strain: 'Tacoma is bound to keep a stake. Her reforms and revolutions go to the root of things. There is a scandal among the police; the city marshal is impeached by the Mayor, street improvements under the city charter are declared illegal; the temperance people threaten a hot municipal campaign and the ruin of the saloonists; the liquor dealer complains of the injustice of the City Council in refusing him a license; the Chinese situation attracts attention; and altogether the season promises to be a lively one. If we can all maintain an even and quiet temper and take things philosophically, no harm is likely to result from these excitements.'
“Tacoma is bound to keep a stake. Her reforms and revolutions go to the root of things.”
In 1885, Tacoma was a city defined by volatile civic fights over liquor, police authority, and racial tension. Today, these echoes remain, as Seattle and its neighbors continue to grapple with high-stakes municipal battles over zoning, policing, and public resources.
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