The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1894-05-11
The Danger Signals.

1 trlCtS. Inc great railroad strike extend
ing from the Mississippi to California was
ended by those in control of the roads
yielding to the demands of the employees.
But this is only a temporary check.
Other strikes are going on, and blood
shed is the result in the coke strike.
Tumult, excitement and threatenings
everywhere. And these are the fruits of
a series of legislative enactments reach
ing over thirty years, by which corpora
| tons have been enthroned in power,
fostered and promoted, and in that long
period not single act has been placed
on the national statute books that can be
construed by the most liberal interpreta-
ton i'll favor of the peoples interest. All,
all i'll favor of special privileges to the
wealthy classes and corporate COM
binations.
The fruits of this legislation are now
ripening and by that fruit the tree must
be judged. The policy" as it is termed,
of The republican party has maintained
all unbroken line in all these years with
out single interruption, and the land is
filled with idle people seeking work and
finding it not, with famine in the midst
of abundance in constant sight, but with
no prospect before them but starvation,
or general uprising and seizure of these
necessaries of life by violence.
Peaceful armies are marching toward
the Capital in the vain hope that Con-
gress can be influenced to afford some
relief to this widespread distress. The
plutocratic powers which have quietly
usurped the government, buster and
threaten to treat as criminals those hun.
CRY people who implore the government
to grant some aid. The subsidized, plu.
tocratic press heap upon the destitute
people epithets of scorn and mock their
despair.
That this picture is but mild reflection
of existing conditions no one who values
truth will attempt to deny The leaders
of the republican party show no signs of
relenting, but Pharaoh like, harden
their hearts at the sight ofthe misery and
haughtily declare that the system of class
governmental protection to trusts, land
grants to syndicates and railroads, fran
chises to corporations, gifts to national
banks from the public treasury, have been
i'll the line of progress and greatest pros
perity to the country. And they main
tain and reiterate this brazen assumption
i'll the midst of the idle, starving millions,
closed work shops, silent factories and
striking laborers.
In desperation the people turned to the
democrat party whose leaders promised
everything the people asked in the way
OF reforming these glaring abuses, but
they only gained power to continue the
same course, and the despairing people
find seated in the Presidential chair, a
man clandestinely foisted on them by the
exploiting, monopoly class, and moving
hand in hand with the gold bug disciples
of Mammon and hooking the miseries
of the common people.
There isn't the slightest prospect in
view OF any change for the better of pres
ent alarming conditions, but every indi-
cation OF the distress intensifying. Such
tension cannot last Something must
give way. In place of the peaceful Coxey
armies dissolving before the ill treatment
which the plutocratic powers at present
enthroned, the more likely turn to take
place is the organization of other armies
armed with rifles to protect themselves.
II such an uprising as the peaceful Coxey
armies should be followed by armed bands
moving in all directions on the seat of
government, where is the power to check
them? The militia of the States and the
volunteer organizations could not do it
and it is doubtful if the Governors would
call on such troops to oppose them, and
III the present temper of the people,
which hourly grows more decided, it is
doubtful if the call of Governors would be
obeyed, the militia being more inclined
to take sides with the Commonweal
armies who carried rifles in place of white
flags. We ask, if people are driven still
further i'll this direction by the hopeless
prospect before them-and there is no
apparent change for the better in sight
what will there be to oppose such move
ment? They will move on convereing
lines to single point and gather sup
plies from the country. With guns in
their hands and cannon in their train
they will seize railroad trains for trans
portation, gathering arms, ammunition
and supplies as they move. They would
have thousands of men well trained in
the science of war on the battle field to
officer and drill them. When we look
back at the change which has taken place
in the minds of the people within even
the short space of single year, such an
armed uprising becomes not only possible
but probable.
Such an active. intelligent class of
people as the plain people of America
will not submit to quietly starve in the
midst of abundance. The sympathetic
belief which is rapidly spreading among
them, that they have been wronged and
robbed by a plutocratic, government
favored class has only to deepen and crys-
talize with no hope of change, to cause
general rnOya.uaot tr. Hat4o.