Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-05-03

The spectacle afforded by the hundreds Of
tramps who compose the so-called industrial
army marching con to Washington is un-
paralleed in the history of the world, as
regards the object and the dimensions of the
movement, and Americans may well pause
and inquire whittier we are drifting. The
rallying cry of the commonwealers is Gem
ployment, y but the real meaning of the
movement is that the people owe these
tramps living, and the army is marching
to Washington for the purpose of enforcing
their demands upon Congress.
Coxey's Commonweel combination is
really a new feature of the socialistic move
ment, and it is all the more dangerous be
cause the real design of the industrial sol
diers is cloaked under call for employ
ment. The giving of employment where it
is not needed for the sake of helping tramp
is an encouragement Of pauperism no les
than the giving of aims to an alleged blind
man who is able to carefully examine the
coin which you drop into his box for the
purpose of ascertaining its genuineness As
| a matter of fact it is not real work that the
| commonwealers are after but they desire to
secure some acknowledgment from Congress
of the governments obligation to help the
| poor of the country. This secured, and it
will be but step to the asking of assistance
| from the national treasury without even a
pretense of labor in return
A careful study of this movement and
the methods employed will disclose the fact
that it is in reality new manifestation of
| trampism. The industrial soldiers are
tramps but they are tramping in body
| instead of Individually as formerly. They
are marching upon the capital from Cali
fornia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming
| Virginia, Kansas Massachusetts, Ohio and
Pennsylvania, The largest of them is
commanded by General" Kelly; it is
| 1900 strong. The next largest is General"
| Coxey's, which has about POO recruits. The
object of them all is practically the same;
they are going to Washington to attempt to
| intimidate Congress- or the district COM
missioners state in their warning proclamation
of yesterday, to compel Congress by mere
force of numbers and physical presence to
make laws providing for the employment by
the government OF labor and the issue of il
Irritable fat money.
That they are in reality doing the
"tramp' act in every particular is shown
by the fact that they have made no pro-
vision for their sustenance on the marc h,
but they depend upon the charity of their
sympalhzers along the road. They are fed
a nd sheltered by the people who are mised
into extending to them sympathy as well as
more material assistance, and these sympa
thizers are apparently without number
That there is large element of present
danger in the so-called commonweal move
ment is evident from the threats which are
almost daily made by the rank and file as
well as the generals and the ''lieuten-
ants, - no less than from the acts Of violence
which have already been committed in
various parts of the West in the name OF
the ''Commonweal - When Coxey was
asked if the commonwealers would resort t.
violence, he said that at is hard to tell what
} people will do. Forbearauce ceases to Ice Q
virtue after while. Under certain cir
cumstances there is not much difference he
tween n human being and an animal.
Seen" Kelly, ON the same day, told his
army that he expected they would hay,
trouble before they got to Washington
Gan revolutions, " he said, have received
a baptism of blood, and don't expect thi
one to be an exception to the rule
This is the same spirit which has mad,
revolutions in France under another guise
and although but little attention is likely t,
be paid to the Coxey army in Washington
even if it is allowed to march under tn
shadow of the capitol, it is true neverthe
less, that the congregatng of these element
of lawlessness bodies no good to the countr,
or the people in general.
The tramp has always been regarded a
an embodiment Of danger, even when h
appeared in individual aud isolated cases
but now that he has taken to organization