The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-12
CRANKS AND FANATICS.
Movements Of Industrial Armies"
the Text


Children's crusades, and the Con-
missionaries of st. Medard.
From the Boston Herald.
DO you think the so-called industrial
armies are composed of men who will
work even ifthey had the opportunity of
doing so under your system3' asked
Uncle Dave
Il think majority of them would, " re-
piled Old Bob
Il doubt it" said Uncle Dave. II
doubt it.
This industrial army movement"
said Squire Ben, reminds me of the
Tyler insurrection in England, during tho
minority of Edward II This popular re-
volt or uprising was headed by one
Wat Tyler, who was soldier, and had
served in the French wars, and man
his lieutenant-who was named Jack
Straw, an Essex peasant. Its immediate
occasion was the imposition, in 1881, of a
poll tax Of three greats a groat is 4
pence) on every adult to defray the
cost of the disastrous French war.
and the first overt act in this revolt
was the death of a tax gatherer, who had
offered an insult TO the daughter of
blacksmith in Essex. From Essex the
revolt spread over Norfolk Suffolk, Sus-
sex and Surrey; but its strength Law in
the 100, 900 men of Kent, who marched on
London, passing quaint rhymes from man
to man, and putting TO death every law
yer whom they found.
The mobiles fed, paralyzed with fear.
while the artisans of London flung omen
he
palac eof John of Gaunt at the Savoy, the
new inn of the lawyers at the temple, and
the houses of the foreign ambassadors
were IN flames, while band under Tyler
himself broke into the tower and dragged
out and put to death Arch bishop Sudbu
the prior of St. John, and the treasurer
and chief commissioner in the levy of the
hated poll tax.
AT Mile-End, outside the CITY. the
young king met the great mass of the
peasants, whom he overawed by his fear
less demeanOr, and induced them to dis
perse by promising them charters of free
dom and amnesty. However, $4,000 re-
manned with Wat Tyler to watch over the
fulhlment of the royal pledge, and this
body Richard met by chance next morn
ing at Smithfeld. In the conference
which ensued, William Walworth, the
mayor of London, eXasperated at the in
y
dagger, and IN the scene of confusion
which ensued, the king, with great pres
ehce of mind, addressed the populace, led
them to Islington, and commanded them
to dlsperse, an order which they o5eyed
The death of Tyler paralyzed the peo-
pie while it revived the courage of the
nobility The king, in violation of his
pledge, led an army of 1000 men through
Kent and Essex, and spread terror
among the people by the severity of his
executions, while in Norfolk and Suffolk
the revolt was stamped out with the most
ruthless cruelty. l do not quote this
Tyler instruction in England as analogous
to the present movement in this country,
for the conditions are altogether differ
emit. In Richards time most of the men
composing Wat Tyler's army were either
slaves, villains who could be sold with the
land on which they lived, or unenfran-
chised peasants. They wanted their free
dom, which was promised them by the
young king, but parliament did not sec
ond or redeem his pledge.
OUR Observation-Disclosures.
are claimed to be composed of citizens,
and ask for work. l doubt if congress
will acCede to their demands. How can
it, l fail to see."
Men are initiative if they are any
thing" said Uncle Joshua "No sooner
does any hair-brained fellow start some
novel thing or movement, whether it be a
new form of suicide or an odd way of
doing something, than he is sure 10 have
an indefinite number of imitators. Take
the old Christian crusades as an example
A fanatic known as Peter the Hermit
started this movement. which drenched
the plains of Western Asia with the best
blood of Europe. The idea was to rescue
Jerusalem and the Holy Land, so-called.
from the power of the Turks. An army.
recruited in France and Italy, followed
Peter to Syria. This was assisted by an
other company under Walter the Penniless
name-but they didn't get
anywhere near Jerusalem, and were
nearly all destroyed by the Turks.
shortly after that an army of Ger
mans shared the same fate. and then an
army of 201,00O men from England and
the continent were also destroyed, leav-
ing Jerusalem still in the hands of the
Turks. These efforts, the results of blind
zeal, were made by undisciplined hordes,
but they opened the way for the first real
crusade.
The first crusade consisted of armies
made up of the very best knights Of
rope, commanded by some of the noblest
princes of the land They fought their
way successfully to Antioch, which thew
besieged and eventually captured
through the treachery of one of its de-
tenders, and then these pious and chival-
rous Christian knights proceeded to
not only the defenders of the
city, but women and children as well.
They reached Jerusalem at last, but only
10000 out of the $4,000 that started sur
vived.
They captured Jerusalem, elected a
king for it, and held that city against the
for l45 years, up TO liza,
when a second crusade had to be declared
to save it. This second crusade, under
the King of France and the Emperor of
Germany, consisted of 200, 900 men, but
it failed, owing to the treachery of the
Greek emperor. In 1857 the Sultan of
Egypt captured Jerusalem, and followed
fresh crusades-a third, fourth, fifth,
sixth, seventh, and finally, in 1870, the
eighth and last. In these crusades the
Christians were at times successful, but
generally they were completely defeated
by the Turks and their allies"
II have seen it stated said Uncle
Dave, "that if it had not been for these
Europe would have been over
run by the Mohammedans; that the cru
sades crippled their military power most
and kept them quiet for about
500 years, when the inyasions of Europe
lin the nth century, by the Turks be-
came alarming, and threatened its sub
version. But hero arose in Poland in
the person of John Sobieski, who defeated
The Turks in many battles, and gave
hem