The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-10
ANARCHY IN CHrcAGo.

! important cities in the Union practi- cally at the mercy of the mob and It's streets the scene of turbulence, vio- l lence and lawlessness hardly equalled in modern times, and only exceeded by French Revolution. To say that an- archy rules in Chicago Is not an ex- travagant way of putting it. for the course pursued by the strikers and l their adherents and sympathizers is a menace to society and an outrageous defiance of law.
 To say that labor unionism is pri- marily responsible for Chicago's reign of terror is merely to state a truth that ought to be apparent to all who care to observe facts. To say that the the ory and practice of organized strikes is the moving power under and behind the shameful conditions now existing in Chicago is an equally patent fact First, as The New York Post puts it, fin a single industry, there Is strike, legal and perhaps justiiabIe; then the sympathetic strike of an ai- lied and unwronged industry. Next we have wholesale rioting, unchecked by any of the strike leaders, and uncoa- demned by the unions. Finally there Is the alliance with timid or incom- petent or demagogic officials, who turn the city over to the lawless clements"
 Perhaps justifable" is a cautious way of expressing 1t, but even that Is rather violent assumption. We do not admit that an organized strike, where the unwilling as well as the willing are forced to quit work is justifiable at any time or under any circumstances. The right of any man or a number of them to quit work where no contract or agreement Is violated may be unreserv- edly admitted. but the right of any man or any number of men to force others to quit when they have no desire to do so we positively refuse to admit. That Is admitting the right of certain men to restrain others. from exercising their inalienable freedom of action, and we do not admit that such right can exist in a. free government or that any man or combination should be allowed to exercise such tyranny over their fellow men.
 But even if we should go so far as to admit that an organized strike on the part of those. engaged in any one in- dustry is right, that does not offer any justification for sympathetic strikes" The teamsters in Chicago thought themselves unfairly or unjustly treat ed, so they struck. Then the other in- dustries controlled by the labor unions also struck in sympathy with them. and for that there was no defence. Suppose the carpenters in Montgomery should feel that they were underpaid and should strike: then the masons, the plasterers, the machinists and all other working men must also strike, although they may be perfectly satisfied with their pay and their treatment. The idea Is preposterous.
 But if we go another step forward and admit that organized strikes and sympathetic strikes are both justifi- able, we still deny that there is any justification for violence and assaults such as prevail in Chicago, and such as accompany every strike of any mag nitude. To say that the labor leaders do not encourage violence Is to fly in the face of facts. An officer of one of the local unions in Indianapolis re- gently used this language: "If an ef- fort Is made to carry on the work on big contracts with non union men, union men are not going to stand around and see them work. Drastic efforts will be made to keep non union men off such contracts
 Here was the declaration, not to be misunderstood, that the labor organi- zations would resort to violence to prevent ncn-union men from working. This official was only little more out spoken than others of his kind, but If they do not endorse his sentiments in words they do it by their actions. The city of Chicago furnishes unimpeach- able evidence that the organizations will resort to violence, bloodshed, muE- der and arson to carry their point. They vii! not only main and kill the strike-breakeIs and their sympathizers, but they will defy the laws of the land and kill the officers of the law. That Is the actual result of organized and sympathetic strikes. whether it is their theory or not.
 It would not be fair or complete to discuss this Chicago affair without re- ferring to the official phase of the mat ter. The Mayor of that city and the Governor of Illinois have both signally failed to do their duty. Whether Mayor Dunne is incompetent, timid or in collusion with the strikers Is imma- terial, but that he has failed to adopt such measures as would put a stop to disorder and violence is certain. That some of the city officials are in sym patty and colluSion with the law breakers has been apparent during the entire time. The city has beeu gwen over to anarchy and those whose duty 1t was to put down disorder nave failed to do their duty.
 Nor has the Governor Of the State been less derelict than the Mayor Deputaticn after deputation of good citizens have appealed to him to order the military to the scene of trouble and suppress 1t. but he has refused to do so. He professes to have such a high regard for the right of a city to govern itself and to conduct its own affairs that he refuses to interfere Better let riot, bloodshed, murder and arson reign unchecked than to violate civic rights. Better allow the city reduced to ruins, the people murdered and prop erty destroyed than order out troops upIass tba Mayor calls for them And