The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-09-16
The Public and Boston's Police Strike

The Public and Boston, Police Strike
Two phases of the public strike in Boston
are of interest-first, the speed with which the
underworld seized upon an opportunity to loot
secondly the decision Of the public to protect it's
rights.
The case of Boston shows how eager are thugs
and crooks to take advantage Of an opportunity
to loot murder attack women, destroy property
and engage in scoundrelism generally. It shows
how vile small percentage Of our population is,
and how quickly the wolves of the underworld
can spring at the throat of society, once the re-
straining hand of law is lifted for moment.
Not so long ago we wondered how it was pos
sible for the populace of Petrograd and Berlin to
tolerate the conditions that prevailed there. And
yet today we have manifestations of the same
spirit in our own country and in city that for
decades has been looked upon as the hub of con-
servatism and order.
We cannot maintain an orderly state of So
ciety unless our officers of the law remain faith
full in their allegiance to the community and state
Policemen and other employees Of the public are
entitled to fair play and adequate pay any,
one else, Of course They have no right to aban-
protection from the vicious and criminal. If
police forces generally will quit work as whole
how long will we have to wait for general pande-
monium and anarchy?
One of the most significant developments of
the situation, however, was the demand of the
public for protection of it's rights AS soon as
the results of the police strike began to serious
ly threaten life and property, the public let it be
xl.L
would turn. The effort to force general strike
in support of the police failed on Thursday night
The Christian Science Monitor gives the ap.
pended Interpretation and commentary on this
phase of the case:
THE labor organizations refused to be STAN.
peded into action, and determined to take little
longer to think. They probably recognized the
fact that the police strike was decidedly unpopu
lar with the worm, and strikes which find the
worm solidly opposed to them have a way of col
lapsing. Now the worm has decided that police
strikes are an outrage on society, and it has Of
fered that opinion quite freely in London as wei
as Boston. If the alternative is general strike
with machine guns in the streets, and soldiers fol
policemen, the worm is letting it be known that
in it's opinion today is as good as any other time
and the worm has wonderful spine, when il
elects to turn. At the same time there should
be no question of the police being forced into
strike by inadequate pay. The duties of the
police are at once onerous and dangerous, ane
there should be no question about their being
properly paid.
THE real solution of the whole question lies
it need scarcely be said, in clear understanding
of justice When controversy is entered upol
the human mind is so innately unfair that it re
fuses, almost unconsciously, to consider boil
sides of the question. It utters it's ultimatun1
To your tents o Isreal quite oblivious of the fac
that there are commonly two Isreals, each equally
certain that it is the chosen people, A deter
mination, on each side, to be fair to the othe
might not bring about an agreement, but i
would at least prepare the ground for TIL
mistake of the two jovial mers, after the pro
verbal manner of millers, has been that the,
have ignored the rights of all men but them
selves. The profiteer has summed up his cree
in the maxim, All the Public will stand; the I'm
ions in the phrase, Let the Public pay. The pub
From the W01