Ramsey County History – Spring 1990: “Eugene V. Debs, James J. Hill and The Great Northern Railway Strike”

Eugene V. Debs, James J. Hill and The Great Northern Railway Strike

Author: Tamara C. Truer

James J. Hill rarely lost a battle or met an adversary he could not defeat. The 1894 Great Northern strike was an exception. When he tried to impose a third wage cut on his employees in the course of eight months, the men, under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs’s American Railway Union, went on strike. All of Hill’s union-busting tactics failed. “The victory [for labor] was swift and dramatic.” Years later, Hill said, “Gene Debs is the squarest labor leader I have ever known. He cannot be bought, bribed, or intimidated. . . . I know. I have dealt with him and been well spanked.”

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