The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-08-19
EMERGENCIES.

II h emergency which tries public
men as we'll as private citizens, II Is
easy to get on when the sailing is plain.
In mid ocean with fair winds, q good
crew and staunch ship, navigation u
mere amusement but lea-shore n
rock,bound coast, narrow channels and
the relentless equinox raging, and one
readily understands the difference beN
tween the situations, The dOlce jar aieata
of the md,ocean situation gives place
TO the anxious care, the restless energy
the wary watchlulness necessary to
keep the ship clear Of the breakers aud
oil the rocks which threaten her de'
struction, SO IL il with the govern
mental situation, when peace, quiet
and prosperity reign, the state easily
gets on with little care Mere routine
work regularly discharged h quite SUI
Rcient. The laws regularly and system
atically administered brings its full res
ward Of obedience peace and order,
Anybody nearly, can govern then, but
when passion RACES, when lawlessncss
takes the place Of good order when
factions at home and hostile combino'
tons abroad, when business stagnation
and hard times have rendered the peo-
pie restless despairing aud turbulent,
then are the highest and better quail
tiles of the rulers, the president and
governors, called into action, then are
the severest tests applied TO our system
of government and laws and woe to the
country if the one is found weak and
incompetent and the other faulty and
inefficient.
The recent labor riots developed un
expected fundamental weakness il
both federal and state policies With
out warning, and almost without ever
the iaintest premonitory indications
n storm of lawless and turbulent actor
broke upon the country, and in few
days every state in the union, rs wei
as even the nation itself was apparent
ly at the mercy Of mere mob. In The
absence of law to prevent, or contro
al, h,,lynn a. nNaattt t,f,
Jackson, at Washington, and in eacl
of the states and cities, would hay,
gone far towards correcting the evil, o
nipping it in the bud, The emergency
came, and found the country altogethe
unprepared for it, No adequate power
no intelligent and Independent eilor
was made to meet the situation, tn,
most appalling which has ever con
ironted the government. The quie
Flooding peace governors OF the state
were mere hgure.heads, an d the vesse
drilted helplessly into the vortex, a.
though no helsman guided her course
and only to tho returning reason o
the rioters, to their habitual respect
Tor law, do we owe the quiet which now
reigns, and not to the majesty or pow.
or of the government to act and control
Is not this dangerous situation2 Does
it give hope for the future when the
mob will be more powerful and conse'
quently more difficulty to control
Here in our own state few outlaw,
from Mexico, following the example Sc
often set by our own lawless bands
come over, attack the Jail of Star coun
ty, kill the officers and release theil
scoundrely comrades, and 60 OIL scott
free. While Texas promptly and help
lessly calls on the national government
for aid, and by the time the red tape is
unwound and ready for action the outs
laws are safe from pursuit in the fast
nesses of Mexico.
A little positive action, a few more
state troops on the Rio Grande, the
militia in readiness, and such an insult
as this would have been impossible, No
good can come of ignoring the situation,
the best thing to do is to recognize it,
and provide intelligently and efficiently
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