The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-09-13
STATE TROOPS
PATROL STREETS
y OF hub CITY
No Repetition Of First 4S Hour
of Rioting and Looting
POLICE READY TO RETURN
But Their Jobs Are Not Open to Them
--commissione and Governor
Are Firm
POLICE READY TO RETURN

Boston, Sept 13.-Police Commits
tsioner Curtis, acting on the advice of
Attorney General Wyman, announced
that the posts deserted by the strik-
ing policemen were vacant and that
he would proceed to fill them. Gov.
Coolidge promptly endorsed the Cur
tis attitude. This apparently means
that there will be a finish fight over
the police situation.
During the day Raymond Geist OF
dorchester was shot and killed when
he resisted the state guard. In the
following excitement Mrs. Mary
Mary jacques Of Dorchester, was
wounded in the knee by shot.
Boston Sept. Estate guard
troops continued to patrol the streets
in conjunction with volunteer police
men and loyal members Of the regu-
lar force. There was no repetition
during the night of the rioting and
looting which marked the first forty
eight hours of the policemens strike,
and only few arrests for minor of
lenses we're made.
Boston, Sept. 1.-The police strike
may end peacefully within twentyNfour
hours, or within that time fight to
a finish between organized labor and
the constituted authorities, backed up
by majority Of the community, may
be inevitable. Either of these results
may come from conference tomor-
row morning between Governor Cal
win Coolidge and representatives of
the American Federation OF Labor
and of the Certeral Labor Union.
The subject of discussion will be
the proposal made today by President
Samuel Gompers of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor that the striking po-
Iicemen return to duty, and that the
Police Department suspend enforce
ment OF the rule prohibiting the
ponce to unionize, until after the in
dustrial con. .erence called by the
has already made it known that the
question OF the right of policemen to
unionze and affiliate with the Fedora
tion, as affecting the Washington
police iorce, will be taken up at this
conference.
Frank Mccarthy, New England or
ganizer of the American Federation
OF Labor announced tonight that the
poicemens union agrees to accept
MI. Gomper's proposal to return to
work and await the result of the Pres
idenrs conference. Other labor lead
ers, while noncommittal, are expected
to be rongly in favor of the propos-
al, particularly as 1t is agreeable to
tn lriking policemen.
Neither the Governor nor any other
responsible authority will disclose to-
night the attitu ude he will take toward
the Gompers proposal. Governor Cool.
idge. in an interview, did make ii
plain. however. that in his opinion
the policemen now absent from duty
are not strikers but deserters, and as
such that there can be no question OF
their reinstatement He pointed out
that this is his personal opinion and
1 he ~, II OF reinstatement H.
not for his dc sion, but for the deter
animation ofsPolice Commissioner Ed
win U. Custis.
While the Governor would not com
1nit himself as to his attitude to Mr.
Gompers' suggestions Of at least a
temporary cnamg of the strike, he
did give the impression that the Po
lice Commits sienor might be let en-
tirely free to act. The Commissioner
in turn, is keeping his own counsel.
When the Governor meets the labor
men tomorrow morning he may take
ono of three stands. He may to
them, though there is every reason
for believing he will not, that he and
the Police Commissioner will permit
the men to return to work, as Mr.
Gompers asks; second, he may tel
them they may come back individual
ly repudiating all union affiliations
and agreeing to take such con nsequent
es of their "desertion,' as he called
it. as the proper authorities may
mete out to them; third, he may re
fuse fatty to deal with the strikers il
any way, with the result that the
Commissioner will continue effort!
already under way to recruit an en-
tirely new force, except for the few
loyal men who refused to strike.
II the Governor takes the fir 1t o
these three possible positions thu
strike will end at once. AS already
pointed out, this solution is unlikely
There is. however. a possibility tina
tHciS hii5ht po al dSicChhSht Oh tH'
second.
The first break in the ranks o. tn,
strikers camn todav when four mel
reported for duty. They we're at ono,
suspended, II their abandonment o
the Union Is correctly interpreted b,
the authorities as meaning that thu
patrolmen are weakening an offer t,
receive them if they quit the uniol
at once might precipitate such
wholesale break that the strike woul,
be over.
II Governor Coolidge stands absc
lutely pat and the men are treat
ed as deserters, who cannot return t
duty. the possibility of quick settle
ment depends rather upon labor ger
orally than upon the policemen. S
far as the patrolmen alone go, the