The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-05-02

counterpart in the memory of Washing
tonians. The broad smooth plaza of
several acres. facing the east front OF the
Capitol, was packed by crowd of men
and women numbering 10000. The Capt.
tol steps and the porticos under the
Grecian pillars were packed with people
of both sexes, we'll dressed. and most of
the members of Congress were in the
throng. An early adjournment had been
taken by the Senate on account Of the
death of Senator Stockbridge. but the
House, not wishing to seem to be terrorzed
by the demonstration. went through the
semblance of session with handful of
enforced the Capitol officers, and detec-
tives from several cities were sprinkled
through the crowd, for the concentration
of lawless local characters gave just
grounds for apprehensions of trouble apart
from the presence of the Coxeyites.
1t was shortly after II o'clock when the
army halted in the public street, south of
the Capitol grounds. Its fve-mile march
do wn from Brightwood through the prin-
cipal streets of the city had been witnessed
by thousands. There were 500 men in
line; Mrs. Annie l.. Diggs. the PoDulistic
agitator Of Kansas, in a barouche; Coxey's
17-year-old daughter, in white on cream
colored steed, representing the Goddess of
Peace; Carl Browne on great gray stall
lion General Jacob Coxey, his wife, the
infant Legal Tender" Coxey togeth in
another carriage; Virginia La Vallette,
said to be an actress, on horseback draped
in an American flag as the Philadelphia
commune's Goddess of Peace: the unem-
ployed carrying white flags of peace on
slaves and nondescript banners setting
forth the doctrines Of good roads and
enmity to plutocrats, sprinkled through
the caravan.
Marshal Browne halted the procession
there in the street, walked back to Coxey'S
carriage, the General kissed his wife. and
the two moving spirits of the affair forced
their way over the plaza to the Capitol
steps. their men acting under orders and
standing in their tracks. After Coxey and
Browne passed yelling crowd of several
hundred men. most of them following
Browne, conspicuous because of his unique
costume, went trampling and tearing its
way through the costly sbrubbery. while
the squad Of mounted police which had
headed the parade, daZed for moment by
the unexpected move, charged recklessly
into their midst.
Coxey was confronted by the police as
he took off his hat to speak on the Capitol
steps. His constitutional rights being re-
fused he thrust upon them printed pro-
test, which proved to be a well-worded
epitome of Populist doctrines. Meanwhile
Carl Browne was being dragged by the
collar of his coat through the crowd to the
nearest station after he had made a fight
to retain his banner. Two police captains.
a lieutenant and sergeant thrust the mild
hammered Coxey without violence back
across several feet of humanity to his car
riaee. Mounted police were forcing their
horses among the people, several of them
cracking their clubs over the heads of the
nearest persons women were shrieking in
terror, men were yelling fercely. some
we're being knocked down and trampled
upon. For five minutes there was riot in
that section OF the mob in front of the
east steps. which occupied about an acre
of the asphalt.
Then. the two agitating spirits having
been removed and half a dozen particu-
larly belligerent men having been taken in
by the police, the disturbance was quelled
without serious injuries to single person.
Somehow the army was started of
toward its new camp between double lines
of police, followed by q mob Of thousands
cheering like demons for C0xey and