The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-04-09
COXEY'S IRIbULAIIONS
What the Commonweal Leader
May Expect in Washington,
LIABLE TO HEAVY PENALTIES.

| LIABLE 10 HEAVY PENALTIES.
It Is Unlawful to Lead n Mob of Dosti-
tuto People Into the National Capital
One Mob OF Forty Already Under
! Arrest.
WASHINGTON, April o. -- The advance
| guard of CoNey's army reached here Sut-
| urday night. There were forty of them in
! all, and they came to town i'm some empty
! box cars over the Baltimore and Ohio
| railroad from Cincinnati The railroad
| authorities had warned Superintendent of
| Police Moore, and when the train stopped
! in the Baltimore and Ohio freight yard in
! lexington the visitors found forty police
men drawn up along the track to receive
| them. The whole mob were at once ar
rested on a charge of vagrancy.
| The unceremoniuus manner i'm which
| the mob of unemployed was taken i'm
charge by the police is a foretaste of the
! reception which awaits CoNcy's army. Al
| though the police department was taken
somewhat by surprise by the unexpected
roming Of the party, there was no delay or
difficulty in massing all the reserves at
the suburban station to meet them.
The local law against vagrants is
sweeping measure. 1t applies to all men
without visible means of support, who are
/ destitute, likely to become charges upon
the city, who have no vocation or means
of gaining a livelihood, or who solicit
aims. The penalty for those who are ar
raigned under the provisions of the act is
ninety days in the workhouse mt hard
labor, but it rests within the discretion Of
the judge to accept their promises to leave
the city at once or to accept 500 bonds as
surety that they will not beg or become
public charges.
There is no doubt of the application Of
this law to the band from Texas under
Captain Primrose, for the search in the po-
lice station of the men showed that the
total cash capital Of the company amounts
to about 81.
OF course the men cannot give bonds for
their good behavior If permitted to re
main in the city, but it is not improbable
that the court will accept their promises
to leave and have officers detailed to see
that they keep their word, since it is evi-
dent that they are neither criminals nor
confirmed tramps, and the expense of
keeping them in the workhouse would be
a large item In the meantime they have
, received fairly good meals, and have been
passably comfortable except for the ig-
nOnlinA OF toUIDtultlI III tlflN cells us
ually occupied by criminals.
Captain Primrose, the leader of the band,
may find himself in more serious trouble
than his followers There is an old law on
the statute books. which was passed in
1880 and has never been repealed, which
makes It an oifense to bring into the Dis
trict of Columbiaany destitute people who
are likely to become public charges. with
. a penalty Of from S25 TO $50 fine for each
offence. Thg police authorities are con.
sideriug the advisability of bringing a
, charge of violating this law against the
leader in which case his fines, with the al
tentative workhousei seimpri,oument, would
amount to very heavy punishment
The same charge may DE brought
against General CoNey il disaster does not
overtake the Army of the Commonwea
before it completes It's itinerary OF cours,
, the vugraucy act may br brought into ap
- plcatiOu against his followers. and be
% side, there are two other laws which it j,
y the ayowed and advertised purpose of tn,
y CoNeyitcs to break One is the act of con
= gress regulating the use of the Capito
. grounds, which fOrbid- i'm stringent term,
" any gathering, demonstration or parade
q the making of any oration, or use o
~, . threatening language, the display of any
" The other lisa local law which forbid
y. men to cuugregate ON the steps of any
. public or private building. 1t rests within
the discretion Of the vice president auC
speaker of the house to suspend the Capi
tol regulations for any proper purpose
and perhaps CoNey's agents viii apply t,
j. them for permission to carry out thei
u program.
Major Moore, chief of police, said il
s speaking of the march of Coyey: "Thes
> laws are on the statute books, and w
u have no discretion but to enforce them
u CoXey's army does arrive, unless congres
: should give them permission to congre
gate on the Capitol steps"
Z The details of the police movemen
u against Coxey are kept a secret. No doub
&c he will be met at the district limits. If tn
/ numbers of his army are too great for til
y police to cope with the local militia vii
be called to their aid. What TO do wit
the army when it arrives and is taken int
=, custody, if it should be, is a difficult que.
I tion, because the iails and staIon house
r of Washington will not accommodate sue
=, a crowd. TO simply repulse the men an
>, forbid them to enter the district would b
+. to turn them loose on the suburban res
!, dents of Virginia and Maryland, and thi
n IL du d7ptNl oi lut IlalLtI Nultu BlNe
4 rise to much uueasiness here
n Major NJ oore has received a letter fror
the chief of police of Allegheny City, Pa
describing the men i'm most uncompl
meutary terms. He declares that theT
d are several professional criminals in thei
y ranks: that four or five hurglaries wer
"a committed by them while theywere in hi
. town, and chat there would have bee
o., + more dpuvpGatiOus but for the close polio
r. surveillance over the army during il
, stay.
"a Colonel Bedstouc, the Washington rel
rcseutativn of the army said couceruin
the men arrested Saturday night: 9TH
body of men is not at all connected wit
,r the Commouweal army, as no Coray me