The Sword of Order at the Newsboys' Union
When an attempt to depose the union's leadership led to chaotic brawls, a local fireman had to intervene with a literal sword.
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.
The Newsboys' Union is one of the most novel labor organizations now in the city. The union holds meetings every Friday evening in the hall of the Marine Firemen's Union on Yesler wharf. Jack Leckie is president and his brother is secretary, but at times the president loses control and pandemonium reigns. William Tobin, secretary of the Firemen's Union, frequently has to overawe the whole crowd with a long sword. Last Friday evening, the worst meeting of all took place. Some of the older boys in the union did not like the manner in which the Leckies were conducting things and wanted to depose them. The result was a storm of eloquence and boisterousness which necessitated Tobin's bringing his sword into play on numerous occasions. The meeting adjourned with the Leckies still in command, but a special meeting is to be held tomorrow evening, at which the opponents of the powers that be will marshal their forces and make another effort to secure the longed-for scalps.
“The result was a storm of eloquence and boisterousness which necessitated Tobin's bringing his sword into play.”
Early Seattle labor organizing was often volatile, with internal power struggles sometimes requiring forceful mediation. While today's labor movements use formal grievance procedures, the image of a union meeting requiring armed intervention underscores the intense, high-stakes nature of labor advocacy on the Seattle waterfront in the 1890s.
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