The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-05-02
COXEfl%.
The Universal Dfscontent-The March
ON WashtngtOn-A General Upris-
ing.

! The Universal cOntent-The March
| ON WashingtOn-A General Upris-
ing.
We have been furnishing our readers with
some reports Of the advance Of Coxey and
others upon the seat Of government. 1t is
assuming vast proportions. It is something
heretofore unheard of in the history of our
country. and a local expression" as the
doctors would say. 'tof constitutional dis
| ease" 1t is the virus Of monometallism and
monopoly working itself out in a CONT
| mental eruption. 1t is terrible; it, is most
dangerous; and yet it has some good fea-
lures.
| 1t proves that a people, trained under free
institutions, and vitalized by the public
schools, will not patiently submit to die Of
starvation, like Russian peasants. It en-
phasizes the evils under which the country
! suffers and enforces the attention of even
the law-making power at Washington. The
| individual citizen taken separately, is now
adays, in these United States, absolutely
| helpless. His enemies have control of
nearly all the avenues of public opinion.
He is like a man dying with forty doctors
around him, each one assuring him that he
is in magnificent health. He cannot con-
tradict them; he does not know as much as
they do; and yet his instincts tell him he
must have change of treatment or he will
perish. He gets up out Of bed and goes
| for the doctors with club; he breaks the
spell, and the medicinal power of unassisted
| nature may save hinA
Think what an "object lesson" these
tramping thousands have been to the on
looking millions! Think of the vast, innu-
merable public meetings, some of them TO- 900
strong, that have gathered together to hear
the new gospel, which had been heretofore,
with great pains, excluded from the ears of
the people. The placid, torpid, rotten sur
race of society is being blown into breakers
hundred feet high; and Plutocracy stands
on the shore, wringins its hands and cry
ing, Where, oh where, is this thing to
end?"
1t is instructive to observe the efforts that
nave been made to suppress this peaceful
lnsurrect1on of the people. First ridcule
was tried, but that failed. Then at Allie
gheny City, CoXeys men were corralled in
H.,
to go on an errand, he was. instantly arrest
eo ana condemned TO the stone pile for go
days Thirty-eight were thus seized upon;
and when Coxey and the rest of his men
attempted to pass their own gate to visit a
theater, to which they had been invited,
they were driven back by armed men,
The result was the working classes rose I'D
in Indignation and they had to permit 1.-The
commonweal' to proceed, in the midst of
vast ovation, the Whole populace turning
out to cheer them, while provisions flowed
In in unlimited quantities. II
The same tactics avre employed with
Kelly's army Of Californians, 1,5OO strong,
when they reached the Iowa line at Council |
Bluffs. A fool of a fellow named jackson, |
the Republican governor of Iowa, elected |
by reason of the general disgust with Cleve- |
land, called out a large body of soldiers to
stop the unarmed men. There is a huge
auditorium on the Chautauqua assembly |
grounds, near Council Bluffs, that will hold |
1000 people; it is open at the sides-merely |
a roof. General Kelly desired to put his |
weary men under it. as it was raining hard. |
The power and dignity of the great state Of |
Iowa, represented by the governor and the !
troops he had called out, said MOP The |
soldiers got under the roof-they could not |
fill one-tenth part of the covered space-but !
with drawn bayonets they kept the poor !
fellows out in the c9l.l and rain, standing !
all night in the mud, drenched to the skin |
and shivering. Fifteen of them were taken |
down with pneumonia-thanks to Gov. j
jackson and the state of Iowa. This was !
triumph of civilization. The purpose was !
to drive the followers of Kelly to some des- |
of the state to shoot them down. But it |
did not work. The wanderers were pa
tience itself. But the people Of Omaha toolzd
it up. Vast indignation meetings were |
held; immense contributions of food and |
clothing flowed in; the workmen dropped |
their work, and 10000 stalwart men and |
hundreds of wor en- marched across the |
river to Council Bluffs, ready to seize |
trains, burn depo or do any other work |
of revenge. Money was raised to pay the !
fares of the men to Chicago, but the rail- !
road companies refused to carry them A |
crowd Of women seized upon a train Of |
cars and ran it out to where Kelly's men !
were encamped. A railroad attorney
named Hubbard, swore that the company |
would ditch the train if it killed every one |
on board, or run wild engine into it and |
smash it into kindling wood. Kelly wisely |
declined the train, and is now marching |
across Iowa. Here is what the press re- |