The Express War on the Tracks
A legal showdown in Seattle tests whether a major railway can unilaterally terminate its contract with an express service.
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 Northern Pacific Railway Company, by means of Assistant General Manager Buckley, has disregarded the December restraining order, and has refused to receive and transport the employees and express of Wells, Fargo & Co. For this, Mr. Buckley has been cited to appear before Judge Greene in Seattle to be 'dealt with according to law.' The restraining order issued last December compelled the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to furnish facilities to Wells, Fargo & Co.'s messengers and express on their trains, not only on the completed portions of the road, but on all sections to be completed thereafter. On August 20th, the railroad officials refused to let the messenger on board the train at Missoula, going east, and on the 26th refused to carry the express or messenger from Helena westward. On the 26th of August, the messenger took his express box and got on board the train at Helena to come west, when he was put off and his box and express pitched after him. Judge Greene issued an order against Mr. Buckley, citing him to appear at Olympia before Judge Hoyt on the 18th of September, to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt in disobeying the injunction issued on the 11th of December last.
“On the 26th of August, the messenger took his express box and got on board the train at Helena to come west, when he was put off and his box and express pitched after him.”
This dispute highlights the 19th-century reliance on rail giants to serve as common carriers for independent merchants, a precursor to modern debates over digital 'common carrier' status for platform monopolies. The conflict captures the aggressive, often lawless expansion of the Northern Pacific line into the interior.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.