The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-02
TACOMA WANTS CONTROL OF HER
HARBOR.

There is q proposition before the legis-
lature asking for such change in the line
dividing King and Pierce counties Is viii
cut of slice from the former and add it
to the latter. This proposition comes Of
course from Pierce county, or rather from
the city of Tacoma, and its motive lies in
the fact that under the present arrange
ment Of county lines the eastern half Of
Tacoma harbor is within the limits Of
King county.
This is by no means . new proposition.
In one form or another it has been before
the last half dozen legislatures, and has
been warmly urged by Pierce county and
as warmly opposed by King. While the
contention has had many phases, its real
character has been drawn from spirit Of
rivalry between the two counties. Local
considerations and jealousies in no Iegiti-
mate way connected with the real merits
of the case have been brought into it and
have prevented an adjustment which the
situation and the spirit of good neighbor-
ship really calls for.
But the time has come to put aside all
feelings of local prejudice and to deal with
this question in broad and liberal spirit.
Tacoma is not unreasonable in her wish to
include the water front of her harbor
within the limits and jurisdiction of Pierce
county. Leaving out all considerations Of
sentiment, and these considerations are
natural enough, there are hundred good
business reasons in justification of this
desire. It would save confusion and
annoyances without end-it is, in
fact, not only proper but neces-
sary. We believe that all fair-minded
people in King county will recognize the
justice of the proposition and that there
will be universal willingness to concede
to Pierce county strip sufficiently wide
to include the whole of the future prob
able or possible limits of the city Of Ia
coma. If this be not true, we greatly
misjudge our people. When the interests
of their city or their county are at hazard,
they are prodigous fighters, but there
is no spirit here that would refuse rea-
sonable concession when it Is asked
for in terms of civility. This we now nm
derstand to be the attitude of Pierce
county. It makes request and presents
good reasons for it, and it ought to be
granted. We trust that King county's
delegation in the legislature will consider
this matter in good spirit and without ref
erence to other questions or interests at
issue between the two counties and that
they viii act as good neighborship de-
mands.
Concerning the details of this re-adjust-
ment, there may be a very important ques-
ton. If we are rightly informed, the prop
osition as it now stands calls for conces-
sion by the county of King of one whole
township. This is certainly more than is
necessary to give Tacoma control of her
harbor. 1t is hardly reasonable to make a
request for jurisdiction over the har-
Dor q cover for scheme of ag-
grandizement. All that is necessary
is to draw line through the
southern end of King county parallel
with the eastern shore of Commencement
bay, not further east certainly, than the
present eastern line of the Puyallup Indian
reservation. This would be just in every
way, for it would include everything that
Tacoma has right to ask. But more than
this it would be as unreasonable for Ia
coma to ask as it would be for King county
to concede