The Sailor's Union vs. The 'Kate Darrow'
A standoff on the Seattle waterfront pits the Sailor’s Union against a ship captain over boarding rights.
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.
Some days ago the ship 'Kate Darrow' arrived in Port Gamble from San Francisco, and took her departure for here. The Captain induced twenty households of Swedes, men of the recent 'So-Called' Union, to join the ship for a fresh term. Mr. Bothwell went to Victoria, hired a crew of four, and then went to Port Townsend to report the ship to the US Shipping Commissioner and signed the articles. He then proceeded to Seattle on the 4th inst. in company with Mr. Bothwell. On their arrival here they were met by a delegation of twenty-five sturdy members of the Sailor's Union, who told them that if they would refuse to pay the ship their board would be paid by the Union, and they need not go. Some of them at first insisted on joining the ship, but they were told that they would as well yield, as they would not be permitted to board the ship, and they finally yielded and were cared for at the expense of the Union Brotherhood to await instructions.
“They were told that they would as well yield, as they would not be permitted to board the ship.”
Labor disputes over waterfront hiring and union influence remain a staple of Seattle’s history, echoing the city’s early roots as a battleground for maritime labor rights. The tension between immigrant labor and union-organized solidarity reflects the structural struggles of the 1880s shipping industry.
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