The herald., 1894-07-02
REAL DANGERS-LBr US HAVE NO
PREr0RIANS.

FKh lOktANS.
There are all sorts of oddities going
on in the United States today, and no
one need be surprised at what may hap
pen next.
The strike OF the American Railway
union against the Pullman incubus is
one sign of the stags of acute tension at
which we have arrived. However, there
have been strikes before and there will
be strikes again. apparently, till the
crack Of doom. They are not pleasant
things to encounter, but the American
people are used to them, as are the
French and English nations. In Eng
| land, couple of years ago, the strike OF
tie longsboremen of London threatened
for time to parslyze the commerce OF
the world. 1t required the personal in
terposition of Gladstone, Lald Rosebery
and Cardinal Manning to bling about
comprcmise which at last flowed the
worlds business to go on.
In 1877 we had a series Of strikes in
the United States that were calculated
to take the kink out of the hair of the
iron and coal barons. The most lur:d of
the Developments of this social volcano
took place at Pittsburg. Before the
trouble had ended there was considera.
BILE slaughter and $S,0O00 900 worth of
property had gone up in smoke. There
was probably even more property than
that destroyed. but that was the figure
at which the damage was assessed, and
which the county OF Allegheny was
obliged to pay to the Pennsylvania Rail-
way company and others who suffered
loss. That was pretty costly fire, and
no wonder poor Tom Scott rushed into
the North American Rsview with an
article recommending the establishment
of standing army Of ono hundred
thousand men. Congress contented it.
self with simply Laughing at the fright
ensd capitalist, and that great strike was
over.
1t is not our purpose to enter upon
the strike proposition on its merits. 1t
is too complicated a question to be con-
eidered in one article. There are, in our
opinion, far more important things than
strikes even. Economic questions OF
this kind adjust themselves, and ulti-
mate relief can be obtained by the gov
ernment's taking possession OF aud run
ming the railroads. This would I'M
doubtedly be form Of paternalism, but
it might come to be necessity, and ne
cessity knows no other law than itself.
But this strike, which is a baby one
compared to the strike of 1877, will
hardly endure long enough to persuade
our people that it il altogether lovely
and wise to put such a powerful agent
into the hands of sucn politicians as
Ar. Christopher Buckley and Mr..
Daniel N. Burns, for that this would be
the result OF making the government
! master Of the railroads and OF the tele-
graphs cannot be dou bted. The party
that once obtained power. armed with
such machinery, could be dislodged, If
at all, only through the energy born OF
revolution.
There are to us signs in the United
States today that are very much more
alarming than the present strike, or a
dozsn strikes, and that is the marked
development OF tendencies which are in
marked degree neither democratic nor
republican. We learn through the tele.
grams tina: it is proposed to give the
president OF the United States mount
ed guard. In times OF great excitement
slight addition to the police force OF
the White House would be readily &C.
copied as an incident of the day. But
mo1nted guard would be so abhorreut
to the ideas OF Americans that its il.
auguration ae feature of any American
administration would stamp it with ig-
nominy forever. We doubt it's utility Is
a protection to the president. The only
occupant of the White House who
was assassinated since the foun-
dation OF our present systsm OF govern
meEt to the present year, who ever
had guard OF any kind, was Mr.. Lin
coin. That was in time of war, when
thu passions of men were at white
heat. and Lincoln himself would have
been the first to deprecate it in time
OF peace.
The assassination OF President Carnot,
which has been profoundly deprecated
all over the world, has had too great an
effect on timid people. The president
ct the french republic at the time he
Was stabbed by Santo was surrounded
by cuirassiers, the testimony showing
that to Jump upon the step of the pres
ident's carriage it was necessary to push
one OF these heavily armed soldiers to
one side. A week before, on the other
hand. an attempt was IN ,ds to rssassu-
ate Sgnor Crispi. thu Italian premier,
and that sii'e and refo'ute man, who
was without guards. sprang out OF mis-
carriage and srappled with and hsld lis