Coxey's Army and the Struggle for the Rails
As the Seattle division of the 'Industrial Army' marches toward Washington, D.C., they face off against marshals and soldiers in a desperate attempt to cross the mountains.
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 Industrials are passing through Missoula in flocks of thirty. The first company of the Seattle division left Spokane on the 14th, with Captain Petting in charge of the rear guard. Faced with guarded trains and deputy marshals, the men of the 'Industrial Army' have been forced to hide in coal bins, walk between towns, or hitch rides on steamers to cross the rugged territory. At Wallace, a deputy marshal fired on a man attempting to mount a train engine, wounding him in the arm, leading to a heated search by local miners for the deputy. Despite the opposition of authorities, the army is receiving support from miners and sympathizers who provide food and funds to help them continue their trek toward the national capital.
“The Industrials are not much scared at the troops, for they know that if ordered to fire not a man will be hit, as the soldiers say that the guns all carry high.”
This is a chapter of the 1894 'Commonweal' movement, where unemployed workers organized a protest march to Washington, D.C., mirroring today's movements where marginalized groups use sustained, visible marches to draw attention to systemic economic failure. The hostility of the state toward these labor-aligned protesters echoes later conflicts between labor organizers and the Seattle establishment.
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