Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-07-26
The First Causes of The Trouble,

The riot of the railroaders is one of
the evidences of the condition of the
country. We are said to be free
people, where all are equal and all
have equal business chances, but the
fact is plain that we are like other
people. Some are wealthy, some are
poor. Some are fortunate. some are
unfortunate. Some are honest, some
dishonest. Some are moral, some are
immoral. Some expect success by
their own industry, some expect to
live upon the industry of others.
Other divisions, opposites, might be
enumerated. Arrange and classify
them and it is easy to see that Pitts
burgh riots and Kemper County mas
sacres are logical sequences. The
men of wealth have made wrong dis
positions of their wealth. The for
turnate ones have not had proper SYM
patty for the unfortunate. The hon.
est men have been satisfied with
their own honesty and instead of
standing by each other have given OF
their strength to the dishonest The
moral men have acted out the same
destructive philosophy. They let their
own poor laborers go idle while they
fed the vicious. Whole communities
listen to the mouthings of loafers and
blackguards who never work, but
spend their time smlrching the good
name of those who do. Their votes
aud their CANNON are purchasable ;
they are to be affiliated. Refined
caste throws kisses to snipes of the
gutter, expecting the snipes to re-
frain from splattering its robes with
mud. They are to throw the mud on
the garments of those who have work
ed for them. Railroad capitalists
gave positions to men whose princi-
pies and morals were purchasable.
The purchased men have worked for
their masters until the masters count
their bonds by the million, and no
more can be wrung from the people.
In the mean time their hirelings have
with their surplus earnings armed
themselves with revolvers and have
had time TO form against their impru-
dent masters the most formidable
combination of riotousplunderers that
was ever seen in America. The riot
ers are hunting the lives and burning
the property of the men who for years
have fed aud clothed them. Revolt
ing as this picture is it is perfectly
natural. 1t is an outcome of the law
of compensation. The masters chose
for their servants the kind of men
that would help them pillage the peo-
pie and when the people had nothing
more to rob, the servants rob the
masters. Just now the trouble is con-
fined to the railroads. 1t is extensive
bit it will be more extensive. 1t start
ed in West Virginia and Maryland,
and is felt in Pennsylvania, Ohio, In
diana and New York. 1t will be ar
rested but its progress will only be
checked. The country will have more
of it. The railroad employees are hard
| workers but they handle more money
than any cther class. They have had
constant work and canstant pay,while
all over.the land there are thousands on
thousands who have had no work and
no pay. There will come time when
these, starving men will act in concert.
Now it is Pittsburgh and Baltimore
that suffers. Then the plundering will
be in every village. Every house
will stand in their way. Already APP
peals are frequent not to leave your
houses unguarded. The people are
told to teach their women to handle
guns and pistols and to sentinel their
doors. What is to be done ? Will the
people adopt cure? Will wealth
| ;o;n honda with industry give mu.
tual protection and live prudentiy, or
will it continue to hire pirates to prey
upon the industrious !?
|
CAPTAIN j. J. Smith, who has
arrived at Brownsville from the City
of Mexico, reports that he had az
| interview with General Diaz, and
expressed himself satisfied with the
order to Gen. Ord Gen. Rsco-
do is reported at Riogrande City
still intent on a Lerdo raid into