The Pullman Strike Shuts Down Washington's Rails
Federal troops and the U.S. Army move to break the nationwide rail strike, with tensions running high in Seattle, Tacoma, and Snohomish.
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.
Orders were issued to the generals commanding Federal troops at each end of the line to use their forces to open the Northern Pacific railroad. Troops are already on the move. The revenue cutter Grant has been ordered to this port to aid civil authorities. While Seattle has been free from serious violence thanks to the self-restraint of the strikers and authorities, Tacoma has increased its police force and 400 Spokane citizens have enrolled as volunteers to prevent riots. In Seattle, police kept rigid order at the depot, though one engineer ran into an open switch near Marion street due to a loss of steam. At the American Railway Union meeting, strikers remain confident, wearing white ribbons to identify their supporters. Strikers along the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern railway assembled in Snohomish to discuss the strike; the resolution to go out was carried by one vote. In Tacoma, the Chamber of Commerce adopted resolutions condemning the strike as a menace to the republican system, and 300 deputy marshals were sworn in.
“They might have stood among the great throng that shouted: 'Crucify them,' but we, the Americans, in thought and actions, command a halt to these proceedings.”
The 1894 Pullman Strike brought the American economy to a standstill, setting a violent precedent for federal intervention in labor disputes. Today, the tension between regional commerce and the collective power of organized labor remains a core part of the Pacific Northwest's political identity, echoing in modern debates over gig-economy workers and labor rights.
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