The Labor enquirer., 1884-04-12
The Late UprisinQ.

The meeting called by some OF the
wealthy men of this city, to meet at
Music hall on Friday, March 30, was the
direct cause of the slaughter of many of
our citizens. The meeting should not
have been held in the first place, and
after the gathering had been called to
order, these selfstyled representative
men, if they had possessed the judgment
they claim for themselves, would not
have made the inhammatory speeches
they did before returning to their homes,
thus leaving the ex cited populace in a
state of mind bordering on frenzy,
which attained such pitch that law was
given but little thought, except of course
the manner in which 1t had been en-
forced-or had not been enforced-in
this community. Ia all probability the
promoters of the meeting did not intend
to excite the people ito the extent their
action did, but they could not have in
augurated better plan. But after the
people had started for the Jail, for the
authorities to call on the militia for pro-
lection was an inexcusable blunder as
the police force could have stopped all
the trouble without bloodshed. The
militia, commanded by inexperienced,
incompetent, and ambitious officers,
some of whom belle We they are destined
to become great soldiers, showed no
mercy, but fred upon all citizens, no
matter how peaceably inclined they
were, who happened within range. On
Sunday morning printers who had been
at work all night, and going home, hav-
ing to pass Court and Pine, were slot,
without knowing the militia were in the
vicinity until after the shooting occurred.
In other parts of the city people of other
trades W ho were compelled to 90 upon
the streets in search of children of
friends, and who had no thought of COM
mittng a riotous act, were shot down
without warning. Those of the military
who were shot, as examination has
shown, were shot by their own men
In most cases, thus proving that this
great sacrifice of the lives of our citizens
was caused by calling upon the militia
to enforce order wnen the civil authori-
ties, with little courage, could have
done the same wfthd ut the loss of one
life, as they had good police force to
call upon, and who afterward demon
strated the fact that they entertained
good will for their fellow men, and
would not take the lives of the people
unnecessarily. The fact of the matter is
that many innocent people have been
killed and wounded, and families left
without one to provide for their wants
through the blunders of "represe ntative"
men, lack of courage bn the part of some
civil authorities, and the seeking of
glory" on the part Of military officers
who did not care W ho or how many
IRE killed in order that they might be
recognized" But tD return to the pro-
moters of the meetin Z. On Monday last
they assembled again or portion of
them-and unanimously adopted resolu-
tions thanking the governor and "state
guard" for the manner in which he and
they had suppressed Ehe riot, while they
were directly responsible for it all. A
resolution of thanks for such butchery,
and coming from the source it came from,
ls rather cheeky, to say the least of it.
We deeply sympathi7e with those whose
homes have been made desolate by the
idiocy of would-be great men.-Gncin-
natl Unionist.