The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-08-05
Stntc Forces and Riots.

Tho riots show the folly of those States
that trust to the Federal army To cure their
domestic ills. Help thysclf and COP will
help thee" says HERHERr- Christian
way Of phrasng truth rs old as mankind.
II Ia the States which, like New York, put
their own shoulders to the wheel, that have
come best out of the slough of the riots,
whereas those States that called instantly
and plteously for Federal troops, only re-
vcaled their weakness to the law breakers
Again, the regular troops in no case gave
the aid looked for. At Pittsburgh. order was
restored, not by them, but 10y armed citizens
At Reading, the citizens did the same. At
Chicago, citizens and militia. aiding the po-
lice put down the mob. In New York city,
the police unaidcd preserved the peace. AT
Hornells,illc, Albany, and other points, the
militia did all the work. The regular troops
guarded Government buildings and supplies
here and elsewhere; they helped to start
trains at Reading and other points when the
front Of the riot had already been crushed;
but 1t 80 happens that they have nowhere
we believe, fired single vOllcy at the mob.
Their work has been well done, but it has not
been the kind Of work nor the amount OF
work that the poor Governors who cried out
Tor them had expected.
The obvious lesson is that each State CON
tains within its own domains ample means
Of securing order aud defending the laws.
provided it will only make use Of them. II
Of course much easier Ia cry out for the rcgu-
lar army, because its serV Ices cost the State
Treasury nothing, whereas tho militia and
extra police must he paid. Besides, the army
may shelter a Governor from exclusive re-
sponsbility, 10y sharing the odium III his
failure to do his duty. The actual facts show
that in those cities where u brave, sklltul,
and adequate police force is provided, it can
generally preserve local order; that IN
those States where decent militia force is
maintained, this will be- sufficient, when
properly handled, to put down n riot; that
even where the militia fails, the disaster
caused by its failure, If developed soon
enough, can be scasouably repaired by the
sturdy public spirit of the citizens.
The moral OF the riots is not the necessity
Of a large regular army. but the necessity
Of Il well-drilled State militia. In New York
no need of calling in the regular troops was
1T any time felt In Pennsylvania and else
where, where the militia organizations are
largely shams-a few thousand city troops
comprising nearly all the woll-armed and
well-driled militia In the State there was
m instant and fatal cry for regulars. They
found too late that the army could not have
saved them even ii 1t had been great deal
stronger. The extra troops even then would
have been swcltering through the summer
In Louisiana and Texas, or adding to How
ARDS army that Is industriously looking
Tor the few score Of redskins under JOSEPH.
Let the riot-riddcn States learn 10 work out
their own salvation from mobs, and then
they will no longer furnish the abicct spec
tacle Of great communities implOrlng aid
from beyond their borders. They have
already found that their own citizens, en-
rolled and armed to preserve order in q sud
den exigency. can be relied upon Let them
now revise their militia systems, weed out
mere show soldiers, and ill up the ranks
with stalwart men, ready for service at any
time.