Seattle's Great Northern Cashes In as the Pullman Strike Snarls Rival Railroads
With transcontinental traffic rerouted through Puget Sound, James J. Hill's line refuses to haul cars boycotted by the American Railway Union — settling an old score with the Northern Pacific.
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 Great Northern Railway and express offices in this city are doing a rushing business at the present time, as all the transcontinental business is coming over that line, and a great deal of merchandise is also arriving from the Canadian Pacific road, which was delayed by the floods on the Fraser River. The Great Northern, however, refuses to handle any of the cars boycotted by the American Railway Union, President Hill thereby turning the tables on the Lake Shore and Northern Pacific roads, which refused to handle his cars at the time the American Railway Union tied up his road a few months ago.
“The Great Northern, however, refuses to handle any of the cars boycotted by the American Railway Union, President Hill thereby turning the tables on the Lake Shore and Northern Pacific roads.”
In 1894 the Pullman boycott turned rail traffic into a weapon, and Seattle's Great Northern office profited while rivals were tied up. The episode shows how national strikes could reroute commerce through Puget Sound and reward corporate score-settling. Today's supply-chain disruptions and rail labor fights still expose how quickly freight networks become political.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.