Railroad Strike Paralyzes Cascade Division
Freight trainmen walk off the job in Ellensburg over safety concerns and bond requirements, sparking a tense standoff.
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.
A strike of the freight crews on the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific occurred on Saturday last, and an almost complete tie-up has resulted. The trouble seems to have been caused principally by new men on the road, who were given employment on account of an unprecedented amount of business, but who felt that their tenure of employment was brief. They held a meeting at Ellensburgh on Saturday last and passed resolutions to firmly stand by their leaders in the strike until their demands were acceded to. The trainmen demand additional compensation on mountain and coal line divisions on account of the work being harder and extra hazardous, and the withdrawal of an order issued by Superintendent Prowell requiring freight conductors to execute a bond to the American Surety company. The superintendent asked for time when the demands were made on him, but the men refused, fearing the importation of new crews. The brotherhood has nothing to do with the strike, it being the result of grievances which the men have against the company. Ellensburgh is the hot-bed of the dissension, and when an attempt was made to run a train through that town Tuesday the striking trainmen flagged the engine two miles beyond the station and brought the train back into the yard. N. P. Attorney Ashton procured an injunction Tuesday night keeping the strikers away from the depot and the right-of-way, and by Wednesday noon two trains had been sent west and one east. Trouble was anticipated here Wednesday when the trains commenced to move, and a large force of deputy sheriffs and policemen were sworn in, but no disturbance occurred. In Ellensburgh hundreds of men have been granted police powers, and the casual observer is led to believe that every male breast bears a star. It is believed now that the backbone of the strike has been broken.
“Ellensburgh is the hot-bed of the dissension, and when an attempt was made to run a train through that town Tuesday the striking trainmen flagged the engine two miles beyond the station.”
This 1889 labor dispute over dangerous working conditions and corporate overreach in Ellensburg reflects the long history of the Northern Pacific Railroad's immense power in Yakima and Kittitas counties—a power that frequently dictated the terms of local labor.
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