Brutal Robbery on the Northern Pacific Train
A young man narrowly escapes death after being beaten and pushed from a moving train during an attempted robbery near Kennewick.
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.
George J. Schliege was held up, robbed, and badly beaten while riding on the 'blind baggage' of the Northern Pacific eastbound train No. 4 last night, between Kiona and Kennewick. Schliege, a local agricultural worker returning from Mabton, had attempted to save fare by riding in the cargo area. Two young men confronted him after passing Kiona, brandishing a gun and demanding his money. When Schliege resisted, he was struck repeatedly with the butt of the revolver, leaving him helpless. The assailants then attempted to throw him from the train between the tender and the baggage coach to stage an accident, but failed due to lack of space; Schliege fell outside the tracks, his hat severed by the fall. Police across the state have been notified.
“They attempted to throw him between the tender and train so that he would be run over so as to make it appear an accident.”
The practice of 'riding the rails' was a common, dangerous reality for itinerant farm workers in Washington a century ago. Today, the stretch of track between Kiona and Kennewick is better known for regional logistics, but the struggle of transient workers to move between agricultural hubs for seasonal labor remains a resonant labor issue in the Tri-Cities.
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