Federal Troops Occupy Seattle to Protect Court Orders
US soldiers arrive to prevent interference with judicial proceedings against 'Coxeyites' after a railroad conflict.
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 United States troops who arrived in Seattle yesterday in response to a call from Judge Hanford are here, not because there has been insurrection or riot, but to assist the officers of the United States court in sustaining the orders of the court and to protect them from violence and interference in the discharge of their duty. Judge Hanford issued an injunction forbidding the Coxeyites from injuring property or interfering with the operation of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, which is in the hands of receivers. A party of men violated this injunction by seizing a freight train at North Yakima. When officers of the court undertook to enforce the order, they met with resistance, resulting in a conflict where shots were fired and several participants were severely injured. A number of men were arrested and brought to Seattle for trial. To prevent demonstrations against court officers, the troops have been summoned.
“This protection is the duty, not of the county or of the state, but of the national government.”
This 1894 incident highlights the historic tension between labor protests and federal intervention in Seattle. It prefigures ongoing civic arguments about how the state and federal government respond to public unrest and labor organizing.
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