However, when the strike began Hanson took a
hard line against the unions. Comparing the strike to the Bolshevik Revolution,
the mayor temporarily deputized and armed over 3,000 men and
threatened to declare martial law if the strike was not promptly discontinued.
Federal troops arrived in Seattle from Fort Lewis on February 7.
The mayor also turned to vigilante groups
like the Minute Men, which patrolled residential districts and sent spies to
infiltrate the Central Labor Council and the IWW.
Fearing the
worst, the city prepared to fight radicals, even
forming its own machine-gun unit
Issuing guns
and badges to newly deputized policemen.