Evening journal., 1894-04-09


ors. However, Proceed Through Pennsyl-
vAuia Undisturbcd.
WASHINGTON, April 9.-The unceremo-
nious manner in which the freight car
load Of Al unemployed men from Cincin-
natl was taken in charge by the police is a
iOretaBte of the reception which awaits
Coxey's army. Although the police de
partment was taken somewhat by surprise |
by the unexpected coming Of the party. |
there was no delay or difficulty in massing i
all the reserves at the suburban station to /
meet them.
Today the men will be brought into po-
lice court and a charge Of yagrancy enter
ed against them. The local law against /
Migrants is a sweeping measure It APP |
plies to all men without visible means Of /
support who are destitute, likely TO become |
charges upon the city, who have no vO- |
cation or means Of gaining a livelihood or |
who solicit aims
The penalty for those who are arraigned |
under the provisions of the act is 90 days |
in the workhouse at hard labor, but il rests |
within the discretion Of the judge to ac- |
cept their promises TO leave the city at once
or to accept 500 bonds as surety that they |
will not beg or become public charges
There is no doubt Of the application of |
this law 60 the band from Texas under |
Captain Primrose, for the search i'm the |
police station of the men showed that the |
total cash capital Of the company amount |
ed to about 81
To Dispose of the Army.
OF course the men cannot give bonds for
their good behavior If permitted to remain
in the city, but it is not improbable that
the court will accept their promises TO
leave town and have officers detailed to
see that they keep their word, since IL Is
evident that they are neither criminals
nor confirmed tramps, and the expense OF
keeping them in the workhouse would be
a large item.
In the meantime they have received fair
ly good meals and have been passably com
Portable except for the ignominy Of con-
finement in cells usually occupied by Grim
inals Captain Primrose, the leader of
the band, may find himself in more seri-
GUS trouble than his followers. There is
an old law on the statute books, which
was passed in 1880 and has never been re-
pealed, which makes it an offense to bring
into the District of Columbia any desti-
tute people who are likely to become pub
lie charges, with a penalty of from S25 to
$50 fine for each offense.
The police authorities are considering
the advisability Of bringing a charge of
violating this law against the leader, in
which case his fines, with the alternative
workhouse imprisonment, would amount
to very heavy punishment
The same charge may be brought against
General Coxey if disaster does not over
take the army Of the commonweal before
IL completes its itinerary OF course the
vagrancy act may be brought into applica-
tion against his followers and besides
there are two other laws which it is the
avowed and advertised purpose Of the
Coxeyites to break.
| One Is the act Of congress regulating the
use Of the capitol grounds, which forbids
in stringent terms any gathering, demon
stration or parade, the making of any ora
tion OF use of threatening language or the
display of any banner or device to attract
attention The other is a local law which
| forbids men to congregate on the steps Of
any public or private building. 1t rests
within the discretion of the vice president
and speaker Of the house TO suspend the
capitol regulations for any proper purpose,
and perhaps Coxey's agents will apply to
them for permission to carry out their
programme.
Major Moore VIII Enforce the Law.
Major Moore, chief of police, said, in
speaking of the march of Coxey, 'These
laws are on the statute books and we have
no discretion but to enforce them If Cox.
eys army does arrive, unless congress
should give them permission to congregate
on the capitol steps"
The details of the police movement
| against CoXey are kept a secret. Nodoubt
he will be met at the district limits and il
the numbers of his army are too great for
the police to cope with the local militia
will be called TO their aid. What to do
with the army when it arrives and is taken
into custody, if ht should be, is a difficult
question, becaune the jails and station
houses of Washington will not accommo-
date such crowd. To simply repulse the
the men and forbid them to enter the dis
trict would be to turn them loose on the
suburban residents of Virginia and Mary
land, and this IS an aspect Of the matter
which gives rise to much uneasiness here.
Major Moore han received letter from the
chief of police of Allegheny City describ.
ing the Coxey men in most uncomplimen.
tary terms. He declares that there are
several professional criminals in their
ranks; that four or five burglaries were
committed by them while they were in his
town, and that there would have been
more depredations but for the close police
surveillance over the army during its stay
Colonel Redstone the Washington rep
resentative of Coxey, said concerning the
men arrested: "This body of men is not
at all connected with the commonweal
army, as no Coxey men will come on until
word is previously sent to our headquar
ters, and none will come in disorder ol
8 without military discipline. There will
be no resistance of the law, and none Of
} the men will enter the city as a body unit
3 the main line arrives"
Labor Leaders Indignant.
Many of the labor leaders in this city arr
2 incensed at the arrest of the Al unemployed
men and declare that the proceeding wa
, | without lawful authority. They say als'
that Major Moore had no right to deal Will
these men in manner intended as a hor
> rible example for Coxey's army.
, 1t is claimed that when the case come
. into court there will be plenty of friend
of the arrested men, including a constitu
4 tional lawyer and member Of congress
4 and if authority has been overstepped il