Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-07-09
Duty First Farley Afterwards.

Duty First Farley Afterwards.
One of the most successful police officers
we ever knew told the secret of his success
saying "When think man should be ar
rested, l arrest him, that 10 unless the man
escapes. may make mistakes sometimes,
but when tell a man to come with me to
the station be is coming. After we get to
the station we'll talk it over. If I'm wrong
let him go but l never allow myself to
parley with the man on the street and when
l am trying to arrest him."
Duty first and parley afterwards is just
what has been needed in the West during
the great strike. Duty first and parley
afterwards would have led Illinois anar-
chist executive to have called out the troops
whether the United States proposed to de-
fend its mail trains or not. His letters
to President Cleveland are disgusting to
law abiding citizens and were answered by
the latter in a straightforward, resolute
message creditable to the country.
When the Injunction issued by the United
States judges, Grosscup and Woods, was
read to the strikers at Blue Island one night
last week, they greeted it with jeers and the
words ''To hill with the government! to
hill with the courts" They then proceeded
to throw a freight car across the tracks
blockading them. THAT was a scene, an
event, calculated to stagger every loyal man
who believes this country to be the best in
the world, who stands ready to maintain
and defend it with his life if necessary.
1t was anarchy, nothing more, nothing less.
1t isn't revolution in the sense that the
insubordinates wish to establish one
form of government for another. 1t is no
government against government. Then
and there the strike trampled law under
foot and began the career of lawlessness.
Not one of the intelligent men engaged in
that strike, in his sane moments, but wants
the protection of government. Because
that government has been remiss in protect
ing its subjects from the encroachments of
capital, because it has not enforced the law
against capitalistic trusts, does not render
it any less responsible for the anarchy con-
nected with the attempt of railway employees
to form labor trust. Although the leaders
of the strike declare against destruction of
property and violence they knew that both
would ensue, would follow their declaration
for boycott. The laboring man has no
greater enemy than the low-lived villain
who won't work, but who stands ready to
assume the garb of the workmen whenever
it may suit his purpose. The real freedom
of this country has no greater enemy than
the foreigner who comes here and without
knowing anything about our institutions
or possessing any of the attributes
of American civilization assumes to lead
the mob. 1t was noticeable that the
Chicago mobs Friday night were led BY
foreigners, foreigners in the sense. that they
do not and cannot belong to this country.
Although it is doubtless such who make the
strike pretext for waging war on humanity
for pillage and pelf yet so long as it is done
in the name of the strike the strike leaders
must be held responsible for it; that is one
phase of labor war as they verywell knew
when they declared war. 1t was Governor
Altgeld's duty when it became apparent
that the police force could not pro-
tect property to call out the troops.
Because he may have believed with
many intelligent men, men who are
not anarchistic demog ,gues as he is
known to be, that there is inequitable
distribution of wealth, such belief could in
no way excuse the obstructing of railway
tracks, burning of cars, assaulting of en-
ployes by strikers. Those strikers have
the right to quit work bu. not to lift fin
ger against those who are willing to take
their places or against the property of the
companies who employ them, for if they
have, then have they themselves no pro-