Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-20
SATURDAY. AUGUST 90. 1892.
The Striking Miners OF Tennessee-The
of New York

oWiJCnINen OF TNcW 4 OlR.
The condition Of things in Tennessee
must result from pure ignorance. This II
The utmost that can be said in justification
of it. The misguided miners look arounC
them at the few hundred or few Thousand
sympathizing friends who encourage then
in their unlawful proceedings and imagine
that they have under their control mer
enough TO repulse if not to overcome th'
representatives OF law and order. 1t can
not be possible that these miners would
thus deport themselves If they knew
that the whole power of the State
of Tennessee-nay, the whole power
OF the United States-was bound &
come TO the support OF the men who are
engaged in the work of enforcing the laws
of the Commonwealth of Tennessee.
Sarely these are blind leaders of The blind
To SEQ q few thousand hard-working men
having wives and children dependent upon
them thus turn out to uphold the cause OF
anarchy Is a pitiablo spectacle. Gross
ignorance, we repeat. of the conditions
under which they act must be at the bot
.om Of their unlawful acts. They do not
Snow that there are 25.000 troops of the
regular Federal army ready 10 be sent TO
the scene Of the deplorable disorders. and
behind these $4,000 regulars millions OF
militiamen ready to 90 to the front upon
occasion.
But will ignorance excuse these law
breakers? OF course not. Ignorance OF
the law excuses the unlawful acts of no
man. They may fieht as bravely as men ever
fought. and perform deeds of daring but
all will not avail. They fight IN hopeless
cause. They fight against all mankind.
They appear as enemies of the human race
when they thus undertake To oyerturn all
the institutions Of human society. What
sort Of community would result If the
Governor Of Tennessee and the President
of the United States were to decide
10 let these Anarchists thus break
up the foundations OF civil So
ciety? Yes, Anarchists they are. II
Governor BUCHANAN were TO negotiate q
treaty with them and put them in posses
sion of the mines they have been working
they would soon fall ont among them
selves and engage in war-One faction
With another The experience of the
world for thousands of years has demon
strated that rioters and Anarchists can be
put down once for all only by the strong
arm of the law. The crimes these mis-
guided men commit are crimes against the
whole human race, The perpetrators of
these crimes can never be justified for
their conduct. Even if ignorance is
at the foundation of their misdeeds
they are. as We have said, none
the less guilty. They set up their
feeble judgments against the judgments of
the whole body OF the community
against civil society wherever it exists on
the globe. Men who are not the victims
Of ignorance OF prejudice can foresee the
result of such proceedings from the begin
ning, whereas the striking miners have no
possible reason for hoping to gain their
point
Our remarks are as applicable 10 the
rioters and Anarchists in New York as to
the rioters and Anarchists in Tennessee. So
the following remarks of the Washington
Post are as applicable in Tennessee as to
New York. We quote:
"Neither the switchmen nor the trainmen nor
the conductors nor the locomotive engineers OF a
railroad have the right TO blockade the country's
business In the adjustment of question OF
wages, or to make forced levy ON the people at
large 10 subserve their own personal interests.
They have the right TO strike, but they have not
the right 70 tie up the roads. They have the
right TO quit work II their wages be inadequate,
but they have not the right TO prevent other men
from working 81 existing wages II they choose TO
do so.S
There IL bat one way 70 the redress OF alleged
wrongs. and that IL the right way. The torch
aud biudgoon, terrorism aud intimidation, are
not the weapons with which honest American
workingmen should seek vindlcation. To DO
worthy OF the liberty they enjoy they must ac-
cord the same degree Of liberty to Others"
II lie impossible for philanthrOpist not
10 syInpathize with the wrongs or evils
which 30 many persons the world over
have to submit TO. But it is also impossi-
ble for any philanthropist to sympathize
with such movements as those we now
condemn in Tennessee and New York The
world is growing better slowly but gradu-
ally let US hope. But II will never reach
the stage where 1t can tolerate such I'M
lawful proceedings as those upon which
this article is based. The problem Of con-
Wet labor will nevertheless be settled in
some way.