The Everett Street Car Strike
Striking transit workers face off against a 'soulless corporation' as public sympathy mounts against the company's use of hired thugs.
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.
Everett’s transit workers went on strike after the Stone-Webster company ignored petitions regarding the high cost of living and stagnant wages. While many workers earned only 18 cents an hour, management refused to arbitrate or engage with labor. The strikers have maintained an orderly protest, yet the city has been flooded with armed Pinkertons and hired thugs brought in by the company to protect their property. Organized labor has publicly pledged to support the strikers, while local ministers and the Suffrage Club are encouraging citizens to walk to work in solidarity. The situation is volatile, and the public holds city authorities responsible if the presence of these outside agitators leads to bloodshed.
“The city is full of them today and they are here for no good purpose.”
This strike reflects the deep class divisions of early 20th-century Everett, highlighting the friction between industrial labor and powerful capital interests—a precursor to the broader labor militancy that would define the city's future.
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