The Militia Crisis in the Coal Mines
A critique of the decision to deploy state troops to handle labor disputes, accusing authorities of partisanship and mismanagement.
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 Oregon Improvement Company had its own armed retainers in the mines who are universally known as rather 'tough' and lawless men. The miners met this armed demonstration of force by arming themselves. The authorities of King County appear to be feeble and imbecilic. Under the circumstances it appeared necessary to call out the militia to keep the peace, but it is nonetheless a costly and demoralizing method of procedure. The governor and all who are in control of the state military have been guilty of the grossest impropriety—to use no stronger term—in leaving at the head of the militia in the field Col. J. C. Haines, the counsel and attorney of one of the factions which was a disturber of the public peace. The honorable men who compose the militia should not be used as partisans favoring one or the other of two law-breakers.
“The honorable men who compose the militia should not be used as partisans favoring one or the other of two law-breakers.”
This reflects the volatile history of labor struggles in Washington's coal fields, where the line between state-sanctioned policing and private security firms was often blurred. It echoes contemporary debates about the role of private interests in public governance and the neutrality of state agencies in disputes.
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