A Seattle Streetcar Killing Sparks Calls for Lynching
A labor dispute turns violent in the streets of Seattle, nearly triggering a riot outside a trolley line's offices.
Just after noon yesterday, a non-union streetcar conductor named Henry Cornwall killed a 15-year-old boy, Francis Cunningham, for calling him a 'scab.' He was placed under arrest. The shooting occurred in the vicinity of many fatal trolley accidents, and resulted in a crowd of 1,000 people gathering at the scene, carrying ropes and intent on a summary lynching. Mayor T.J. Humes wired to the governor for troops. Seattle never before experienced such a day. The streetcar strike has not only prevented people from using the streetcars but has prevented any of the cars from coming downtown by any means. Such is the intolerance by the unknown strikers that the downtown streets were like a desert this afternoon. The retail business is practically paralyzed.
“A crowd of 1,000 people quickly gathered at the site of the killing, carrying ropes and intent on a summary lynching.”
This 1899 report reflects a city on edge during the transit strikes that defined the era's labor strife. Much like modern debates over public transit reliability and public safety, the 1899 strikers were fighting for control over the city's essential infrastructure, revealing that the tension between corporate operation and public interest in Seattle's streets is a century-old inheritance.
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