Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-02-10
Strikes and the Militia.

Up to 1877 the employment of the militia to suppress strikes was practi- cally unknown. Indeed it would be safe to say that strikes themselves were com paratiyely unknown. In 1877 it was question whether it was good policy or quite safe to call out citizen soldiers to put down riots instigated by those who were in many cases their own fellow townsmen and appropriateness. Results have since shown that the militia, ex- cept in one single instance i'll Califor- nia, can be depended OH to fire at anybody or anything where the order has been given them to fire. This fact has given rise in workingmen organizations to a prejudice against the militia companies, and a sort of unwritten law obtains that no member of labor organization shall belong to company of the national guard
 Since the great railway strike in Pitts burg in 1877, however, the calling out of tho national guard to suppress strik- CTS has become moro and more frequent Beginning with the strike named and ending with the Brooklyn trolley wire strike of January, this year, at least 13 times tho militia companies have been called to do duty against laboring men. Tn 1880 Colorado silver miners struck against reduction of wages. The Knights of Labor were behind this rising which the citizen soldiers were called on to suppress. Again troops wore employed iu 1885, when the employees of the Wabash railway system ill Missouri quit work because of an order that no Knights of Labor should be employed
 III 1886 occurred another railway strike through the southwest The Knights of Labor supported this strike also and the militia were again called out to put 1t down throughout Missouri, Texas and Arkansas. In 1890 came the strike on the New York Central road against a reelection of wages, and the state troops ' ere ordered out. In April, 1899, the Pennsylvania state troops were ordered out in the strike in tho coke regions. July, 1892, tho Pennsyl- vania militia were sent to guard the Car negie works against strikers during the riots there, riots which cost Alleghany county many thousands of dollars.
 In 1899 occurred also tho strike on the Lehigh Valley road, with the violent demonstrations at Buffalo and tho call ing out of tho New York militia.
 The occasions for using the state troops in labor troubles crowd thick and fast i'll the past few years, IS though in one part or the other of this Union there was always an armed camp. In 1893 occurred the miners strike at Cripple Crock, Colo, with the stato troops on the scene of action and tho sympathies of tho governor on tho side of tho strik- CTS.
 In 1894 we find strikes all over and state troops called constantly in to guard the property of employers. The coal miners organization throughout the middle and southern and some of the western states stopped work very gen. orally in protest against q reduction of wages. Troops were ordered out ill Mary land, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Hi nois, Ohio, Alabama and other states. Upon tho heels of the coal strike oamo tho Pullman trouble, in which the American Railway union i'll different parts of the country became involved through sympathy During the prog ress of this affair not only state troops were called out, but President Cleve- land ordered the soldiers of the United States regular army to guard railway cars at Chicago.
 Finally the year 1895 is opened with the strike for raise of wages of the em- ployees of the Brooklyn trolley lines. In Brooklyn ono day nino regiments of militia were under arms at once.