The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-01-23

! fOday0 news auu, iitic w
what has gone before in the
way of sensational features. While
his furnishes Dnly negative reasons for
reaching the conclusion that the strike
is already settled. if not practically over,
Sill the conclusion will doubtless be
found to be "A correct one.
The fact is the military forces have
| gradually secured control OF the situa-
tion in Brooklyn and, almost uncon-
sciously. the strikers and their
riotins sympalhizers have lost
their grip since the New
| York brigade marched into Bro k
lyn Monday morning TO relieve the
! Brooklyn soldiers. So that, by lhi-
time, the climax of the strike has proL-
ably been reached, and IT
may now be said 10 be on
the wane, though doubtless MARTIN
CONNOLLY, the IN ster workman who is
at the head of affairS, doesn't yet re-
alize it, and tie Mayor of Brook
lyn may continue to be III the
same state of mind which has. from the
beginning of this civic rebellion, inn
PEELED him to seek to compromise with
the vioators of law and order instead of
throttling them.
We do not recall in all the history OF
strikes in this country, since the days OF
the draft riots, another city OF
as,.s A,ts. hat hnG r.
mitted itself to fall into
the hands of mob and has surrendered
hopelessly and abjectly to riot and vio-
lence as has the city of Brooklyn for the
past 10 days. The situation is almost as
ridiculous as it is serious. Here is a
great and sober-minded municipality,
thrown into state of anarchy by few
thousand men on strike. The Mayor
of the city and the police department
fail to get their eyes open to the possi-
bilities of the situation until the
| spark has blown into flame
| and the city Is in control
of an army Of rioters. Then this Mayor
seeks 10 conciliate the mob leaders, and
lends an ear to citizens of the kind that
regard the rioiing and anarchy as
The result of the malevolent power of
corporations. Incidentally. that funny
institution, known as the State Board OF
Arbitration. figures on the scene. The
heads Of the police department, sworn
to maintain the order of the city and
protect its people, would arrange
"a compromise between nsr COM
panies aud their late employees.
Meanwhile the late employees are
devoting themselves TO mobbing men
who are willing to work in their places
and are destroying the property of the
car companies. Brick bats are flying
and heads and window panes are col
lapsiny before their impelling force.
After awhile the Mayor Of the city of
Brooklyn. his police heads and his ad-
visers generally have come to see new
light. They seem to have awakened q to
realization that something besides
an argument between corporations
and their employees over hours
and wages Is going on In
the city of Brooklyn. They discover
that law aud order no longer prevail in
the sober city; that the lives of citizens
are not safe; that property is being de-
slroyed at the pleasure Of those inclined
to destruction; that the business of the
city is paralyzed; in word. that mob
law is the only law prevailing in the
city of Brooklyn.
They discover this little late in the
day, do the Mayor of Brooklyn and his
advisers, but they really seem to have
found it out. They have quit fooling
themselves with the idea that, with
the city in control of mob,
there Is somehow, somewhere,
some question about somebody's wages
andAhours of labor to discuss. The ri
diculous Board of Arbitration has gone
home again, because there is nothing for
them to arbitrate on and it was never
any of their business anyway until long
after whatever merits existed i'm the
origl nal controversy had ceased 10 cnt
any ice.
So the militia are called upon, eight
or ten thousand of them. The police
department takes brace. Even the
Mayor OF Brooklyn, himself, seems to
have taken brace. The bracing de-
velopment was slow though, very slow.
The militia forces, when first called out,
were made very poor use of by the
civil authorities and the mob re-
bellion continued to wax and
grow accordingly so that another brig
ade had to be ordered to Brooklyn.
And if the Mayor OF Brooklyn had kept
his eyes shut much longer the whole
National Guard of New York might
have found plenty of work in Brooklyn
City. The piddling policy Of temporiz-