The Coxeyites Trek Across the Cascades
Striking laborers barred from Northern Pacific trains walk over the mountains to Cle Elum, leaving the rail yards in a state of uneasy tension.
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.
Superintendent McCabe of the Northern Pacific reported that the 'Commonwealers' (Industrial Army protesters) have moved east of the mountains, as they were not permitted to ride through the tunnel and were forced to walk over the mountain pass. In Ellensburg, the situation remains tense; the Northern Pacific yard is blockaded by 160 loaded freight cars. While local authorities arrested three men for allegedly breaking a car seal, the local populace is reportedly sympathetic to the marchers, with some railway employees even encouraging them. General Secretary Baer of the Christian Endeavorers observed that the protesters show more enthusiasm for their cause than church members typically do for their faith. As the army continues eastward toward Spokane, the authorities struggle with the legal uncertainty of whether to prosecute these men under Federal injunctions or state laws.
“His followers are much more enthusiastic than church members over pastors.”
This 1894 movement, part of the wider 'Coxey’s Army' protest, highlights the desperate struggle for employment during the Panic of 1893. Today's Seattle continues to see 'industrial' and economic friction, though the transit battles have shifted from freight train stowaways to modern-day debates over public transit accessibility and the right of the unhoused to occupy space in a rapidly gentrifying city.
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