Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-28
THE STRONG ARM NEEDED IN SAN
FRANCISCO.

IhE oIhUNU AKIN NE6UEU In DAN
FRANCISCO.
Yesterday the RECoRD-UNIoN began an
article on the hopefulness of the strike in
San Francisco being settled, in these words:
" One of the associations into which street
car employees in San Francisco are organ
lied has had the good sense to denounce
theoretically the outrages along the lines
ON which the strike took place. This is
well, but resolutions are not enough-they
must be backed with deeds" The back
ing" of deeds has been given, but
at swords points with the verbiage of
the resolutions" While the hypocritical
declarations of adherence of violence were
yet damp from the pen that recorded
them, strikers on the Sutter-street line,
with dynamite bombs, attempted to
blow up a section of the road. Inside of
twenty-four hours thereafter, masking
their cowardly faces in black, these mis-
guided and desperate men, who have de-
veloped into ruffians and assassins, assailed
workmen and passengers on both the
Geary and Sutter-street lines, stoned and
beat and otherwise maltreated them,
turned the cars loose upon the hilIsides, to
run wildly to the destruction of life and
property, and ceased from their fendish
attempt to kill, MAIN and destroy only
when the police drove them away with
powder and ball. The lines are now
guarded by over hundred policemen.
What if it takes thousands? What if
the need calls for the entire militia of the
State? For if the property of citizens in the
street railway lines of San Francisco cannot
be protected from lawless assaults, what
expectancy can we entertain of the homes
of citizens being preserved from pillage
when the next masked mob pre-empts the
public highways in the metropolis? The
time has come when the people of San
Francisco must decide between mainten-
ance of order regardless of the expense
involved, or surrender their homes,
wives and property to the passions of red
handed mobs. For one of these encour-
ages another. The vicious flock to their
call and swell the ranks of disorder. A
strangely instant communication takes
place between the nucleus of a mob and
the ruffians, outlaws, thieves and murder
ers of great city. BY sympathetic tele-
graphy they become aware of the promise
of feast of blood and plumber and are
first in at the charge.
1t would be good radiance if the whole
lot of social fungi and ruffscuf' that flock to
such call could be bayoneted out of exist
ence by citizen soldiery. Such result
would almost compensate for rioting. But
unfortunately this same desperate and
vicious element is cowardly and manages
in the main to escape injury, while bullets
intended for the bodies of the lawless more
often find their way to the hearts of
innocent bystanders. So far as the
rioters who provoke these assemblages
are concerned, they have now forfeited the
faintest sympathy that any self-respeeting
man may have felt for them. They have
erected barriers between themselves and
tolerance that are impossible. They must
be dealt with as should be every man who
raises hand to strike down an inalienable
right. In the persons of the policemen
assaulted the body of the people has been
beaten; the law that is their only guaran-
tee OF safely has been detied; the right of
men and women to move upon the free
highway has been invaded by men who,
though masking as workingmen with
grievances, in their highway exploits are
more essentially outlaws and thousand
fold more dangerous to society than was
ever Dick Turpin when he "pistoled gen.
tlemen" upon English heaths.
The mob of Monday morning was prob
ably composed wholly of strikers, for
there was masking and method in
their assault and subsequent work, but the
act was invitation and encouragement to
the vicious elements that reveled in SINH
lar work week before, to renew it again.
The people of San Francisco owe it now
to the people of the State to vindicate
their right TO citizenship, their right to
possess property, and their right to use it
lawfully as they please, by stamping out
the street railway strike with such sudden
ness and emphasis as viii make the his
tory of it a record the lawless will never
forget. Strong terms and harsh words only. fit
such cases. Buttbe time for temporizing and
entreaty has passed. The moment for the
crushing of lawlessness is in the instant of
It's birth. There is no need to step outside
the bounds of the law to accomplish the
desired ends: there is no necessity for re-
sisting lawlesSness with even orderly dis
order" no need for vigilance committees
or leagues of safety. But there is need to
supplement official duty by such public
sentiment and action as will teach the
rioters lessons not to be forgotten.