New-York tribune., 1877-08-06
EIRNT or Ill.

The line between laWlcSSncSS and order can
not be too sharply defined. No party can make
n mistake that postpones all questions to the
one Of chief present Importance: Shaii we
"haye a government Of law or the rule OF 81
"mOb?" And it is wrong to suppose that the
queliing of the riots and punishment OF few
ringleadcTs among the rioters Is any Se'rle-
mert of the question. The mob has asserted
itself in bloody fashion; has accentuated its
demands with club ard pistol, and blazed its
way with the torch and the track OF It's blind
and drunken fury has been written IN fire
and slaughter. In some places it has been
throttled already; III Others 1t still Is rampant
and defiant or sulenly turks for the oppOrtu-
nlty of outbreak To whatever violence and
disorder may come out of it there can be but
one issue. Law will be established and order
maintained. That is the inevitable end of all
such demonstrations HE only question is
how pluch shall we allow them to cost us in
the destruction of property and loss of life.
And that we shall settle according as we treat
the lnob-spirit as brutal, beastly and
dcviiish-which ali experience has shown 1t to
be-or recognize it as Il treaty making power,
to be met by committees cOnciliated by par
ties, recognized 10y Legislatures, and lntigated
bv concession and compromise. Granted that
the last yestiSs OF the mob will be put down,
as in a very few days II will, can we fattcr
ourselves that the danger is past; that i'll the
brief but rough experience Of these futile ei-
forts TO inaugurate anarchy the mob was learn
inc its lesson 81 well that it will never dare
repeat the experiment? BY no means If mObs
can learn ANYTHING, and if they have learned
anything from the events OF the past fortnight,
it is merely that they have gained nothing by
open defiance of the law; that so far as any
direct advantage is concerned, the violence to
which they resorted defeated itself.
But wha happens now? ? The one thing
they have effected, beyond their own discom-
future, is to disclose to the demagogues and
managing politicians OF both parties power
in politics. a numerical force at the ballot box
worth PLAYING for. To these mer, playing for
the high stakes of Office and is emoiumentS,
the politlco-ecOnomic questions i'Ivolved IN the
relations of labor and capita-tho rights OF
one or the tyranny of the Other-haye no spe-
cial significance; but a great huddle OF votes,
moving all together and dropping for one side
or the other a solid "pumper" into the bal
lot-box, means a great deal What the recent
demonstrations have dOue is to disclose to
these men the strencth of this force and the
large possibilities of power it affords to which
ever party shall win it. They do not inquire,
"What are the actual grievances of these la
"borers," OF "have they any just cause of COM
"pant that can be legitimately reached and
" removed by political action ~ They ask only,
"What do they hiak arc their grievances;
"and how can we make them believe we SYM
"Dathize with and will aid them ?" In the
blaze of its own torches, and by the light of
the fires it had set, the mob revealed it.
self-frst to the Government, to be pnt down
with the strong hand; next to the dema-
goguo., TO be waited upon and tiattercd and
treated with for its votes So the mob, foiled
i'm its desperate endcayOrs TO carry out It's
purposes by force and set itsai up on
the ruins of established ord-r, finds
that after all it has succeeded in asserting
itself, making itself felt as a political force,
and procuring hearing. Technically it has
accomplished its purpose. The parties which
would not listen to their complaints before
have been forced to give them a respectful
/ he.ling, ana come to them soliciting their
votes. The mob has failed in its demands
I upon the employing corporations, but has sue
ceeded in establishing itself factor in the
/ problem Of politics, and making itself felt in
/ tho Government. Is there any question as "a
/ what effect such precedent will haveY Any
/ doubt as TO what will be the prescription OF
! social disorganizers always hereafter. when any