Arizona republican., 1903-11-20

CURRENT COMMENT
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New York's Lady Rioters.

The excuse given by the police cap
 ta in for failing to preserve order or even common decency on the occasion of the RoXburghe-Goele wedding on Wednesday last is fraught with serious suggestion. He humbly confessas that
 the lady rioters were so well dressed
 he didn't dare to handle them. In a word. he and his men looked on. help less. while bowling mob of New York ladies committed acts of vulgar rowdy- Ism of which uhe Eas; Side or Helrs Kitchen would have been ashamed. No swarm of harridans let loose from the foulest slum in the whole metropolis could have behaved more shamefully than did those handsomely attired fe- males whom the police were afraid to treat as they deserved.
 A local newspaper. commenting on the disgra ceful demonstration. reminds us that the police Is composed of prac- tcally the same material as that which, about five years ago, maintained pr
 feet order throughout the city during the Dewey celebration and parade when the crowd in the streets was a thousand times greater The inference suggested is that under the same con trol and inspiration the shocking ex- cesses of Wednesday last would have been prevented. In other words, We are asked to consider the present imbecility of the New York police as the logical result of the policy of the reform gov "rnment of New York during the past two years. The force has been em- ployed almost entirely in the pursuit of so-called Vice--gambnng, liquor drinking. street walking; violations of lou atn hot sf oughly demoralized and incompetent when called upon to discharge q really important function such as that Of maintaining public order and protect tns respectable people from mob vio- lence. No one doubts that if thc screaming rioters who assaulted the Roxburghe- Goelet wedding party had been of slatternly appearance Mayor Lows police would have clubbed them Into good manners without a .1o- ments hesitation. It seems. however TO have come to pass under the reform dispensation that. barring liquor gam bling. and filtration on the streets. well-dressed persons in New York may do anything that trikes their fancy and 20 scot-free for all the government cares. That 65.OOO majority against Low and Reform-with all the Combin- alton implies-becomes more and more lntelligible every day.
 This explains. perhaps. but surely it does notexcuse the astounding b. hayicr of the ladies in question. We can un- derstand the futility of a police force. degraded by the constant performance ot mean actions, and carefully withheld from the discharge Of serious and man ly duties. A policy which embraces nothing more important than the pur- suit of beer drinkers and card players and the persecution of unfortunate and friendless women is not likely to ele- Vate the morale of the establishment so employed. Under such auspices tandards must be debased and per forlnances sink to the ignoble. The conduct of New York's lady rioters. however, will ever baff1e conjecture among the S5,OO0,O0O Americans who in- habit the wilderness west of the Hud- son river, and, upon the whole. We are well content with the arrangement-i Washington Post.