Printers Wage War Against Congressman Humphrey
Everett’s typographical union breaks precedent to endorse a candidate for Congress in protest over the wood pulp tariff.
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Everett Typographical Union, No. 410, took the unprecedented step of endorsing a non-union member for public office, throwing their support behind Judge Black for Congress. The union's grievances stem from Congressman Humphrey's refusal to support placing wood pulp on the free list, a measure requested by printers across the country to combat the paper trust. The trust had inflated the cost of paper, forcing publishers to cut staff and reduce the size of their newspapers. By maintaining the tariff on pulp, Humphrey helped sustain the trust's pricing power, prompting the local union to officially 'go after Humphrey's scalp.'
“During the tariff conference before Congress it was shown that the paper trust had added $8 per ton to the cost of print paper.”
The tension between local labor power and federal legislative interests remains a fundamental aspect of Everett's civic identity, reflecting the enduring struggle of industrial workers to influence national economic policy.
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