The Politics of Scabbing
A scathing editorial in the Labor Journal attacks a city council candidate for his history of crossing picket lines at the Sumner Iron Works.
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 Labor Journal is questioning the fitness of Mr. Jaxtheimer, a candidate for city council in the 6th Ward. The paper alleges that during the 1904 machinists' strike for a nine-hour day, Jaxtheimer continued to work at the Sumner Iron Works, effectively acting as a scab. The editorial further contends that he again worked through the iron workers' eight-hour day strike in 1910. The piece frames his political aspirations as an affront to the working class, describing him as a 'tool of the interests' who benefited from labor gains he refused to fight for.
“For the capitalist who puts up a game fight for his opinion we have some respect, for the scab, none.”
This reflects the fierce, polarized nature of early 20th-century municipal politics where candidates were explicitly vetted by their union history. It serves as a reminder of how labor identity was once central to civic identity in Everett's industrial landscape.
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