Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-08-13
What q Riot Is Like.


persons now living there have been no
more than three great riots in this coun-
try. The first was the draft riot in New
York city, which began July 10, 1858,
and lasted three days. The second was
that of 1877, in Pittsburg, beginning in
a strike Of railroad employees. The
third is that at Homestead, Pa. A pc
culiar fact about these riots is that they
all occurred in the month Of July. The
Paris Bastile was also captured and
sacked by a mob July ID, 1889.
In the Pittsburg riot of 1877 neither
the civil authorities nor the state militia
were able to cope with the mob. The
state troops after being attacked took
refuge in a railroad roundhouse, to
which the rioters set fire and attempted
to burn the men alive. A number of
members of the national guard were
killed. 1t was not till the United States
regular soldiers were sent to Pittsburg
that the rioting stopped. 1t may be OBJ
served in passing that this riot cost the
state Of Pennsylvania $4,000, which
was collected off Allegheny county.
But an awful riot, like those of Paris
in horror, was the affair of July, 1858,
in New York. There negroes were
caught in the street wherever found and
killed without mercy. In some cases
they were tied to a lamppost and burned
alive. The superintendent of police was
attacked and beaten nearly to death.
Colonel O'Brien, a brave man, who
sought to use his authority to stop the
insane frenzy, was knocked down and
kicked to death in the streets. For
hours his dead body was kicked about
the streets and insulted by the mob.
All this is recalled in a vivid and
striking letter by Joseph Howard in the
New York Recorder. He himself was
reporter for The Times, which the mob
called an abolition paper, and he was
caught and nearly killed, only escaping
with his life when brave reporter
named Cohen, on the New York Elk
press, took off his own Express badge
and pinned it ON Towards coat, thus
cheating the mob for the time. This
was during momentary lull after
passing fire company had turned their
hose on the mob and driven them back.
The firemen picked up Howard and
quickly took him to their engine house,
which was attacked and stoned till every
window was wrecked. The mob would
have done murder only that some build
ings near by were fred, and that drew
the attention of these furies for the time,
and Howard escaped. While they had
him they dragged him up arsl down the
streets by the hair and stoned him. OF
the scene he writes:
l was there In pursuance Of my duty, and
while looking at burning building noticed
that gang of half grown boys were annoying
an old man as he came down the avenue.
Very naturally and very foolishly interfered,
whereupon, without q seconds parleying, one
cut my lip open with brass knuckles while the
others robbed me In less than II takes to tell it.
Then, raising a cry, they attracted the atten-
ton of the crowd, no member Of whom knew
or had ever heard of me, but all recognized me
as a victim and fell upon me with brutality
Of violence can never forget. For at least
ten minutes ] was their plaything, rolled in
the dirt, kicked, cuffed. mauled and hauled.
hat gone, glasses lost, clothes torn, covered
with blood, miserable remnant Of. so to
speak, humanity.
On the whole, it is not much wonder
that Joe Howard has white hair. He
attributes the spread of mob frenzy to O
few malignancies," who act on the
others like laughing gas. There are al
ways in these great crowds, too, those
whose sole design is robbery, and these
stir up all the racket they can. Mr.
Howard says:
Men who have never seen a riot know moth
ing of II.
Men who simply read of the scenes of horror
in Pennsylvania don't appreciate the hither
verge of the terror that exists there. Men
who have never faced a mob can have no idea
OF what that situation means. Human nature
Is transformed into that of beasts. Tho milk
OF human kindness is curdled and turned to
gall; honesty Of purpose becomes a bloody In
stlnct; ferocity, bestiality, dishonesty and bru-
tally 20 hand in hand seeking for prey, re-
gardless Of race, sex or condition. Nothing
under heaven but the strong arm Of de-
termined law can stop Il, and the time to end
IL is In the beginning.
What may seem cruelty Is kindness.
What may seem measures Of harshness are
the best possible policy.
There should be no temporizing with rioters,
no arguing with armed miscreants; every vio-
lator should DO brought-and, II necessary.
brought with armed force-into the courtroom
and be dealt with by the law. The people Of
New York have faced 1t once and may have to