The Machine Behind the Badge
Striking Everett machinists allege that local industry and the police have merged, with company men serving as 'special police' to suppress picket lines.
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.
Justice Sheller dismissed the case of William Botting, a striking machinist at the Sumner Iron Works, who was arrested for disorderly conduct while picketing the Snohomish River bridge. Botting’s defense revealed that his accuser, a special officer named Goodwin, was among several strike-breakers officially deputized by the city. The Labor Journal contends that the Metal Trades Association, in collusion with local plant managers and the Chamber of Commerce, has utilized city-sanctioned 'special police' status to protect the industrial interests of the Sumner Iron Works against workers fighting for an eight-hour day. The court noted the charges were so trivial it was a wonder they were ever brought to trial.
“This case is so trivial the wonder to me is it was ever brought into court.”
This 1910 labor dispute over the weaponization of policing against strikers mirrors modern tensions regarding the role of private security and police in labor relations. The history of the Sumner Iron Works—once a pillar of Everett’s industrial might—highlights the historical struggle between the power of capital-controlled 'special police' and the rights of organized labor.
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