The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-07-29

Persons who lose their heads in II critical
emergency usually favor extreme measures
when their fright is over. The railway con-
nict being pretty much at an end, two
classes step TO the 'front.' the Theorists and
the Ccntralsts
just now the Theorists are by far the less
proposterous of the two. They want the
United States Government to buy and take
possession Of all the railroads in the coun-
try, and run them for the account OF tho
public treasury and In the interests Of the
whole people. Waving aside the thrOng Of
other objections that spring up to confront
this measure, 1t Is quite sufficient to con-
template the rccklcssncss, the corruption,
the manifold abuses that have characterized
the management of every great corporation
which Federal power has controlled or into
which II has thrust its mcddlcsomc fingers,
from BIDDLE's National Bank down to the
Pacific Railways. From beginning to end,
this system has been n series Of imhccilitics,
venalitics, and cxtravaRances, in which the
people have been poorly served and badly
nccccd. while the Rings that dominated the
corporations grew arrogant as they got rich.
These severe lessons Of the past should warn
us against n repetition Of such errors on n
larger scale in the future.
The Ccntralsts seize the present cmcr-
gency to clamor for great standing army.
They insist that the crisis through which
we have passed demonstrates its necessity.
We think it proves precisely the contrary.
The railway employees. as general rule.
were not in the mobs at ALL As to the riots,
they have been suppressed, so far as force
was employed, not by Federal troops, but by
the police, the shcrifTs. the local militia,
md associations Of citizens. A few com
panics OF United States artillery and in
fantry were paraded through the country,
but they amounted to little more than n
show. And after ALL it was the sober see
ond thought of the railway workmcn, and
some concessions Of the railway managers,
that brought the strike to an end
Now, suppose the reliance in this contro-
vcrsy had been upon Federal troops, as the
Centraists contend it should be in such
emergencies, how large an army would be
needed The recent disturbances, great
and small occurred in about one hundred
places, some of them being very serious. To
have promptly suppressed them would, at
certain points have required II large force.
The average number at the several localities
ought to have been at least thousand sol
dcrs. Therefore, to have met and mastered
this outbreak would have required about
a hundred thousand soldiers; and, SO soon
as we fall back upon regular troops for
keeping the peace, we must station them
wherever an uproar is likely to occur.
Moreover, we must have about as many
more to man forts, guard the frontiers
and restrain the Indians. Thus we
should have n standing army, in time Of
peace, Of two hundred thousand men, cost
ing two hundred millions year, quartcrcd
IN all the large towns, and converting the
nation into a military camp; and all obcdient
- one will at Washington!
The Ccntralfsts may be assured that the
people will not tolerate any such extrava-
giant, dangerous, and monarchical scheme
as this.