The Political Thuggery of the Pinkertons
A look at the violent labor struggles in Roslyn and the cozy relationship between political bosses and private security forces.
In 1888, 'Thug' Sullivan, with forty-eight armed assassins at his back, went to Roslyn to terrorize, drive out, and kill workingmen. Mr. Snively, as prosecuting attorney, had the chief and his leading aids disarmed and locked up in jail. The workmen published a statement of the affair in which they said: 'Sullivan seems to have a particular fight against our honest prosecuting attorney and the Knights of Labor. His fight against Mr. Snively is for doing his duty as an officer of the law. His fight against the Knights of Labor is for demanding their rights as citizens.' Now Sullivan is getting even by fabricating accusations against Snively. Workingmen, remember that in that test emergency, when the rights, liberties, and lives of workmen were at stake, Snively was your friend. He was also the friend of law. 'Thug' Sullivan is today working with all his might for McGraw. McGraw approves of his methods. If McGraw is elected there will be no anti-Pinkerton law. If Snively is elected, the curse and stain of Pinkertonism will be wiped from the face of the state.
“His fight against the Knights of Labor is for demanding their rights as citizens.”
This piece highlights the historical role of private security firms—like the Pinkertons—in violently suppressing labor movements, a recurring theme in Washington’s industrial development. Modern labor disputes continue to grapple with the tension between corporate security and the rights of workers to organize without intimidation.
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