The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-26
IS THERE A LIMITs

will not try tO~ cross the me IT the limit of patience and forbearance has not been reached in Chicago. we fail tc understand what is lacking. For weeks the strike has been growing and spreading like a malignant ulcer and there is no prospect of abatement. Riot murder, thuggery and other forms oi lawlesspess have prevailed with little hindrance. Today the second city ir the United States is practically in a condition of anarchy. Law and order are defled and good government is ashamed.
 To all outward appearance the end is no nearer than 1t was a month ago. noI can we see any ground upon which to base a hope that peaceable settlement is probable or possible. If the Mayor and the Sheriff have really tried to put down this revolt against law and order, they have signally failed. It may be that they have done their best, but if they have. 1t ought to be plain to them that they are virtually powerless. They may have done all that lay in their power, but if that is true their power is utterly inadequate. The bosses Of the strike movement, the men who or dered it, who direct 1t. and who get we'll paid for the movement, are defiant. aggressive and insulting.
 If there has ever been time when a general strike was justifiable, this was not one of them. The difference which originated with the garment makers was Insignificant, and might have been adjusted without detrinient to either side. The employers and the workers could have settled their disagreement and all would have been well. but this plan did not suit the labor bosses. A general strike meant money and pres tige to them. so a general strike was ordered. No one familiar with such things could have believed that 1t would be carried out without disorder and lawlessness. The vicious and turbu- lent element in all cities is always ready to take advantage of such occa- sions. To that class an excuse for riot and excess Is all that is needed. Like
 
 the dry grass on the prairie, nothing is required to spring blaze but match or a spark, and the orders of the labor bosses was the spark fin Chicago. If the flame has spread beyond what the bosses desired or expected they cannot claim that they have been deceived. Ex- psrience and observation should have taught them that what has happened in Chicago was bound to follow the strik- ing of the match. They cannot plead surprise or ignorance, nor can they shift the blame and the responsibility to others.
 The dispatches tell us that Shea is defiant, and no one can doubt 1t. What is it to him that hundreds of men are idle who ought to be at work and would be but for their masters of the unions? What Is 1t to him that women and children are suffering for food be- cause their supporters have no work to do or are not allowed to work? What Is 1t to him that anarchy practically roigns in the great city and that law and order have been buried? What is it to him that men are assaulted, beaten, maimed or murdered by hired thugs for no other reason than that they wish to exercise their natural right to work for a living? What, in short, does it matter if Chicago is dis graced and the whole country shamed by the conditions which have existed there for weeks? Nothing matters to Shea. and his kind except that they are bosses and are prohting by this dis graceful situation.
 Can 1t be allowed to. go on indefinite ly? is a question that may we'll be asked. We do not believe Mayor Dunne can put down the disorder. nor are we assured that he is really trying to do his duty. We do not believe the Sheriff can settle the trouble, admitting that he Is sincere in his efforts to do so. The only hope is that the Governor of the State will take action. either of his own accord or because the Mayor may be forced to ask for troops. But there is another alternative. and 1t, is not at all
  ward and the lawless element become more reckless and defiant until the United States mails, or interstate com merce, or the Federal property will be interfered with. Then the President if he is worthy of the high position he | holds, will send a sufficient body of troops there to put down the revolt against law and order, just as Cleve- land did in 1894. and for which he earned and received the thanks of all lovers of good government.
 And when that emergency arrives whether the troops wear the uniform of the State or of the United States, they will restore order even if many lives are lost. Then we will hear the usual bloviation about the rights of man and about citizens being shot down in cold blood, and about the military usurpine the powers of the civil authorities. Ii will be unfortunate if that shall prove the only way of settling the trouble but 1t will not be surprising, and the blame will rest on those who organized and managed the strike.
 And Shea is defiant"
 
 That anarchist who accidentally lei fall a bomb, or stumbled and fell witt it. and was blown in pieces by the ex. plosion. gave the best illustration oi hoist with his own petard" that wt have heard of.