Disgruntled Workers Dynamited Flume in Yakima
After failing to receive pay for their labor, a crew of ditch workers turned to dynamite to exact revenge on the Leadbetter Ditch Company.
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Reports reached North Yakima yesterday from Kiona that a large force of workmen employed by the Leadbetter Ditch Company had blown up flume No. 4, a 200-foot structure, with a quantity of dynamite recently stolen from Contractor Everst. The trouble originated in the failure of President Leadbetter to secure funds sufficient to pay off the men for work already performed. The men received only meager reports of the progress of financial affairs, and had frequently threatened to blow up what work they had already accomplished unless funds were immediately forthcoming. Last week they purloined a large quantity of dynamite from the contractor, and the destroyed flume is the result. When he missed the dynamite, Contractor Everst knew what to expect, because the men had not been at all timid in declaring their intention to have what they called revenge. The men appear to have gotten the better of the company to the tune of $450, which sum it will take to repair the damage done. A reward has been offered for the apprehension of the marauders.
“The men had not been at all timid in declaring their intention to have what they called revenge.”
This act of industrial sabotage highlights the volatile labor relations of the irrigation-fueled agricultural boom in Eastern Washington. The tension between unpaid labor and capital owners remains a recurring motif in the state's economic history.
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