The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-29
POLICE HELD IN RESERVE.
The Entire Force CHARTERED at the Bar
racks by the Mayors Order.

ldVhO W luG nay VI UluCls
The Longshoremen Under Surveillance.
The Orders Issued at the Request of
Business Mer-No Indications of Any
Outbreak and the Authorities Reticent
as to the Purpose Of the order-The
Police Think They Are Getting the
Worst Of It.
Acting Mayor Mills issued an order to
the chief Of police yesterday to hold all
the police at the barracks, beginning at
z o'clock this morning, except those on
regular duty on the streets.
Instructions were accordingly given to
each detail as it came off duty last night
to report for duty at o'clock this morn
ing. The detail which came off at mid
night. consisting Of one-half the force
was held at the barracks and the detail
on duty between midnight and O'Clock
this morning will also be held when it
comes in. The whole force will then be
kept at the barracks subject to orders,
with the exception of the regular street
details.
The action of the acting Mayor created
a great deal of surprise among the few
who heard of it. The police were as much
surprised as everybody else, and a. very
unpleasant surprise to them it was, too.
They do not relish being confined in quar-
tiers, and in fact some of them threat
ened to send in their designations two
months ago on the occasion Of the long7
shoremen's riot, when they were held in
quarters for several days.
gfr.yaf wa mn n
OF the police reserve a secret. 1t was
learned, however, that the order was is
sued at the request Of a delegation of
business men, who called upon Acting At
torney Mills Saturday and urged that the
step be taken for reasons which they con-
sidered urgent. Mr.. Mills was seen at
his residence last night by a Morning
News reporter, but would not state the
reasons which caused him to issue the
order. The business men, he said, gave
very good reasons for making the re-
quest, but il was not advisable to make
them known, he said, lest the fact of
their becoming known might bring about
the very thing which it was intended TO
prevent. He admitted that it was the
longshoremen from whom trouble was ex-
pected, if any there should be.
us there any reason to expect trouble
from that source?" he was asked. "Have
there been any indications of an out
break?"
None that I know Of" was the reply.
eve have had no information of any
prospective trouble from that source"
What are the reasons for keeping the
police in quarters, them"
'It would not do to make those reasons
public Just now. 1t is intended as a pre-
ventive of possible trouble, rather than
with the object of suppressing any trouble
already brewing"
Ill ~ T,-TI -,
uuarters?"
Until it is apparent that there will be
no trouble Perhaps several days"
1t was rumored last week that the OBJ
ject of the leaders of the colored long
shoremen's union in going to work was
not to give up the fight. but for the pur-
pose of stirring up strife among the nom
union men already at work and producing
an outbreak among them which would so
cripple the shipbrokers that at this criti-
cal portion of the season they would be
forced to yield to the demands Of the long
shoremen or suffer heavy losses. Several
policemen who were seen last night
thought that this had brought about the
order. Mr.. Mills, when asked about the
report replied that he had heard nothing
of it, and did not think there was anything
in it,
By putting different odds and ends to-
gether 1t is surmised that the reason the
business men requested that the police
not on duty be held in quarters. is that
the recent outbreak by the longs oremen
of New Orleans might encourage the
longshoremen here to resort to violent
measures in the hope Of carrying their
point. The idea seems to be that an ounce
of prevention is worth pound of cure.
The announcement that the police are
being held in quarters will cause consid-
cradle surprise. There has been no an
pearance of any intention of violence on
the part of the longshoremen, and the in
timation that such is the case will no
doubt be Indignantly resented by them.
in the meantime the police are the suf-
ferers, or they think they are, anyway.