The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-14
ruE HOMESTEAD STRIKERS AND
TREAeON.

On foot The county Judge called sew
oral Of the Circuit Judges into confer
ence with himself and the District Az
,orncv before the preliminary steps were
,akon. and these were reinforced by the
counsel and advice of the Chief Justice
81 the safe. The latter functionary de-
,ivered the charge to the grand jury anu
received the indictments when the grand
;rrv brought them in. and, 1t is an
nounced. he will preside ut the trials.
All this method and deiberation show
very plainly that the whole subject has
been fully considered in all its bearings
and the conclusion reached that the pro-
ceedings of the mob at Homestead are
in the eye of Pennsylvania law treason
against the State Of Pennsylvania.
TO an unprecedented outsider, who
knows the crime Of treason only by its
literature there is something positively
shocking in the proposition that the
Homestead rioters are traitors. If the
boycotters who caused so much trouble
here by their lawless proceedings few
wears back had been charged with the
crime of treason it would have been
lust as reasonable as it is to charge the
Homestead strikers with treason. Yet
the moral sense of this community would
have been astoundcd if the charge had
been seriously made. The Times is for
the preservation of law and order under
any and all circumstances, but wishes
to see things treated according TO their
nature, and while it most heartily APP
plauds a proper course of procedure Tor
suppressing the lawlessness of the riot at
Homestead, it is with great regret that
il sees the law Of treason perverted, as
it thinks, to a purpose for which 1t was
never intended. However praiseworthy
the aims and object of the authorities
may be, and however imperfect the laws
Of Pennsylvania may be for suppresslng
the rioters by proper process, this furn-
ishcs no reason for warping the law
from its due course and convicting men
of treason who have committed no crime
greater than riot.
Treason is crime of politics and states
mil ship to be laid at the doors Of Wash
ingtons, Henrys, Jdcksons and Lees.
But to elevate the Homestead rioters to
the planes of these is to degrade noble
cr;me-if such sOlecism is in order
and to mix up and confound the street
brawler who resists a policeman with
Jefferson Davis and \. II. Stephens Gre
ating a nation. Evil must flow from such
a confounding of things
One passage in the charge of the Chief
Justice to the grand jury is very note
worthy, particularly as it no doubt con-
trolled that body in its deliberations and
determined it TO charge the accused with
the crime of treason. He said:
"A mere mob collected upon the inn
pulse of the moment without any DEFINITE
object beyond the qualification of its sud
den passions does not commit treason,
although it destroys property and attacks
human life But when large number
of men arm and organize themselves by
divisions and companies, appoint olhcers
and engage in common purpose 10 dely
tho law. to resist its officers and to de-
prive any portion of their fellow-cltlzens
of the rights to which they are entitled
under the Constitution and laws, IL IS Il
leyying of war against the State, ana
the offense is treason. much more so
when the functions of the State Govern
ment are usurped in particular locality,
the process of the Commonwealth and the
lawful acts of its officers resisted ana I'M
lawful arrests made at the dlctatlon or
n body of men who have assumed the
functions of a Government in that To-
caIitV. and it is q state OF war when
business plant has to be surrounded by
the army of the State for weeks to pro-
tect it from unlawful violence at the
hands of men formerly employed In 1t.
We can by no means assent TO this as
q correct definition of treason in itself,
but. as applied TO the facts that were to
be investigated it was wholly mslead-
ing. The essential element of treason
the sine qua non of treasOn-is an IN
tention upon the part OF the parties
charged with the crime to subvert ana
overthrow the established government.
Now. it is possible for every fact sup
posed in the Chief Justices charge TO
exist. and still for the parties concerned
10 have no sort of intention 10 subyert
and overthrow the existing Government;
and if that intention were wanting, how
ever lawless their acts might be, they
would not be traitors. The Homestead
case is lust such an one. The parties
were riotous, disorderly and lawless, but
they were wanting in the essential ele-
ment of treason, an intention 10 over
throw the Government of Pennsylvania.
They might have been a large number,
they might have been armed. they might
have been divided into divisions and com
panes, with officers, and they might have
been engaged in q common purpose TO
defy the law, to resist its officers and to
deprive a portion of their fellow-citizens
of rights to which they were entitled UNI
der the laws and yet the whole scope OF
their intention might have been, as 1t
was, purpose to unlawfuily
coerce Carnegie into paying them
their scale of wages instead
of his. This being so, they could by no
possibility be guilty of treason. because
the intention to subvert the Government
of Pennsylvania was not there.
One other remark made by Chief JUS
tee Paxson in his charge is especially
noteworthy. He said
I'VE have reached the point in the his
tory of the State where there are but two
roads for us to pursue the one leads TO
order and good government, the other
leads 10 anarchy The one great cues