The Industrial Army Marches Through Seattle
Hundreds of unemployed laborers parade through downtown with banners and brass bands, seeking work and recognition.
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 paraded the streets yesterday afternoon, making a showing of 450 men. The procession was headed by the Klawano band and each of the seven companies was preceded by the American flag. At the previous parade no standards were borne except the stars and stripes, but yesterday a silk banner bearing the name of the army was carried in front, flanked on one side by a banner bearing the inscription 'Gold at a Premium, Humanity at a Discount.' In the procession also was a float borne by four men and surmounted by life-size portraits of George Washington and the Goddess of Liberty, back to back. The men made a good showing in line and marched much better than would be expected of such a motley crowd, unaccustomed to military duty. The line of march was from the barracks up Commercial and Front streets to Pike, up Pike to Eighth, countermarching to Second, and down Second and South Third to the barracks. Crowds of people thronged the sidewalks to witness the turnout.
“Gold at a Premium, Humanity at a Discount.”
During the economic devastation of the Panic of 1893, unemployed 'industrial armies' formed across the US to march on Washington, D.C. This Seattle march captures the era's severe class tension, mirroring contemporary struggles over homelessness, unemployment, and the stark contrast between wealth and the precariousness of modern labor.
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