, 1880-11-21
How the Reading Railroad Com
pany Was Forced into
Bankruptcy.
Senator .Hin-The speakership-Maj.
Swaine-The Grant Chafee
Wedding.
The Bernhardt Boom-Sara as Com
pared with :Other Noted
Actresses.
spseiak Corrrspondenee Of 1ne cateaqo Tribune.

Gov. Pitkin, the Mayor, and other officials oi
the city, and communications to the press,
there las been happily no renewal Of the
terrible anti-Chinese riot Of two weeks ago.
| The state Of anarchy then prevailing has
only been equaled, proportionally, BY the
New York City riots during the War, and by
the eneutes Of the French Commune.
Timorous citizens fled to their homes, closed
their houses, and extinguished their lights, =
many Of them expecting that the small but
| organized band of rioters would lay waste
the entire city, the police having been over
| come and rendered perfectly powerless.
Around the elegant residence of ex-Gov.
Routt of Colorado the rabble gathered with
tiendish cries,-one Of their leaders yelling
| towards the darkened windows:
Governor Routt,
! = And we'll bust your snoutr'
| Now that order is restored, and with large
force Of extra policemen, peace is again as
snred the pertinent inquiry is made
| interesting alike to Chicago and other large
citfes,-
| IT'S THE CITf LIABLE %
If not, who is to pay for the damages, bills
| for which amounting to. over $4,000 have
| thus far been presented? The City-Attorneys
! argue non-liability, quoting Dillon's de-
! cision that Public or municipal corporations
| are under no common law liable to pay for
| the property Of individuals destroyed BY
mobs or riotous assemblages." From my
| personal knowledge, I know that statutory
! provisions exist in New York State holding
| the city or county pecuniarily liable for de-
struction Of property by mobs; in Louisiana
municipal corporations are liable for the
damages 0ccasioned by such agency; and in
Pennsylvania the statutes of the State
provide for remedies against the county. The
terribleriots of 1877 will still be recalled they
ragged most seriously in Reading and Pitts
burg,-the loss in the latter city aggregating
over $2,oo0,0o0, tile Pennsylvania Railroad
being the chief claimant An extensive and
wcll-organized attempt was made, through
bribery chiefly, to pass in the State Legisla-
ture at Harrisburg n bill for payment of the
heavy damages by the State, which signally
failed. Several members Of the Lower House
"broke " from the ring; 4 number Ut Repre-
scntatiyes were indicted for corruption and
bribery, and were convicted. The prosccu-
ton and the defense had tho best legal talent,
State aud National,- ON the side of the prose-
cution being Matt Carpenter, Coleman OF
Washington, Judge Jere Black, and Others,
including Frank i. Gowen, the President ~
the Philadelphia IL Reading Railroad,
and one of the brightest lawyers
in Pennsylvania. Gowcn went into
the case on his return from Europe
with all his well-known shrewdness and
cunnmg,-not that lie loved Justice less, but
that he hated Tom Scott and the Pcnnsylya-
MIA Railroad more. The bill was not only lost
in the Legislature, but the Representatives
indicted were convicted and sentenced to
Ero i%,rr
however, by the Governor and the Board of
Pardons of the State. Revenge speedily fol
lowed. Ken,ble, one Of the convicted men,
bcrs, collected all lis financial resources, aud
promptly
FORCED ISTo' BANKRUPTCY
the Reading Railroad and Its sister and allied |
corporation, the Reading Coal d Iron COM |
pany, both owned mainly BY English capital,
Involving all aggregate of S137, QUO, 900, and |
occasionfng much distress and suffering |
aao9n!g thousands Of ~. Worfmen S9'd and their
ley, and the extensive anthracite
is the inside history of the cause Of |
the Reading Railroad bankruptcy, Governs |
agemcnt having rendered it Vulnerable to
such I'LL extensive and aggressive attack on !
its finances. So ended dis;.strously the most
extensive and best-oreanixed attempt in this |
W tlNitalCl tl46 liability
by mob violence from minor municipality !
to State; Pittsburg lies III Allegheny Coun- !,
t.. and the latter has been held responsible.
The special statutory provision IN the cases
precIutles the existence in c4mmon law Of
any legal right to recover damages from mll-
nicipal corporations or county authorities for |
such acts ut mob violence; ! and, i'll its absence
in the statutes of Colorado. no recovery
against city Or county, or relief in any shape
to TAXPAYERS. is apparent, unless provided for /
by the coming Legislature. The question Of
liability is of interest 10 Chicago and cities of
lesser magnitude. The Pennsylvania statute
would seem to be the correct one, as the
Sheriff and his deputies, all county officials,
are directly responsible for the preservation
Of the peace.
The election-retnrns are all in, except from
THE rEEK1roHY OF WYOMING,
German n fsrmers % do in @od Berks Il Penn r
sylyania. There they vote tor Jackson yet
and keep it up fur 4 week Or two. 4 tele-
gram to-day from Cheyenne states that Post,
is b sseted hat to S%g SS.greiKStG st
had large majority. Post's majority Is given
at li5, with Salt Creek, Il Democratic district
{and suggestive Democratic nnme), i'll Uin-
tab County, still to be- heard from, In Wyo-
ming the women are a power in politics, and
their votes have changed nlally Of the dis
tricts. Swan, the Republican candidate, is
wealthy, very agreeable, and great ladies'
man, ana Dv HIS personal presence at ClT- |
bon on electioll-day, he upset nll calculations
in this former Democratic stronghold. This
only confirms the old atlage, trite but true III
social lifeur politics, that woman il 1.-THE power
behind the throne" The unexpected result
of the Wyoming election calls attention to
the fact that, while the North has become
soIldly Republican, the Territories have
changed to Democratic aspect since the
commencement OF President Hayes AL
ADMINISTRATION. For this remarkable change in
the present political current Of events there
Is and can be asc1fbed but single cause: the |
Indian policy Of Secretary Schurz. In Colo
RADIO that was replaced by the wel-tlefined
and jndIcous policy uf Gov. Pitkin, whose
Administration has been indorsetl by his re-
election by both Republican and Democratic
votes, his majority being far in excess Of his
ticket.
To-day your correspondent visited
SENATOR HILL,
at ArEo, two miles from the city, where the
works Of the Boston & Colorado
Smelling Company, Of which he is Presi-
dent, are located. The plant Of the COM
pany is tren>cndous,-th silver output
going annually we'll up into the
millions. Here only in the United
States are the In0st refractory OF
siiver-ores, formerly shipped to Swansea,
Eng, successfully treated,- PROF. IliIi, for
1neFly of Brown University, going to En-
+ko