Seattle’s 'Industrial Army' Mobilizes for the Capital
Unemployed men organize into companies, drill in the streets, and plan a march to Washington, D.C., to protest economic conditions.
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 Northwestern Industrial Army from Seattle numbered 500 members last night, all soldiers of industry. The officers were kept busy at the headquarters at South Second and Weller Streets in receiving recruits, organizing them into companies, and distributing donations of food. The army is not neglecting the needs of destitute families; when notice was received that a family living at Fifth and Yesler Avenue lacked food, the secretary went there with beef and bread. Officers are also planning a trip to Washington City, proposing to arrange with railroads for a train of eight or ten box cars. They hope to raise subscriptions to maintain the men until the trip and provide for the families of all married men who join the ranks. Four companies have been formed, and their evolutions were watched with interest by a number of curious visitors.
“The army is not neglecting the needs of destitute families, for when notice was received that a family living at Fifth and Yesler avenue lacked food D. C. Jones, the secretary, went there with twelve pounds of beef and two loaves of bread.”
This mobilization was part of the national 'Coxey's Army' movement of 1894, a response to the crushing Panic of 1893. The tension between the city's need for public order and the desperation of the unemployed remains a haunting, recurring theme in Seattle’s history, echoing modern debates over how the city treats those living on the margins.
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