Evening star., 1921-12-26
"Amazons" on the March!

At last it has been officially estab-
lished that kipling was right. The
female of the species is more deadly
than the male-at least in Kansas
Perhaps, though. it is merely that the
law of adaptation is working. with the
result that peculiar conditions and IN
stitutions in that locality are producing
variations from type. At any rate. 'he
inhibitions imposed by law on the male
of the species. especially the genus
coal miner, against active participation
in strikes and strike demonstrations
are not bothering the women
Union miners in Kansas had gone
back to work, after q period OF diner-
ences with the operators. But outla"
strikers, still faithful to their as
credited leader, Alexander Ho"at' re-
fused to return to the ranks. and tneir
womenfolk undertook the job OF pick
citing the mines. 'Some idea OF tne
trouble that can be started by one zone
revolutionist may be gained" the Bur
mineham News says. "by a study OF
Alexander Howat and his petticoat
brigade misguided wives OF idle
miners-idle through defiance o1 tne
unions decrees,' who are apparently
venting the spleen of their lazy men
by overpowering mines where thriits
and Industrious members OF the uii'oh
are making living.
In their charge on the mines, the ne"
York Herald reports, the hansas
women seized the dinner pals OF elgnts-
five defenseless miners and. aiter pei
ing them with pie. cake. SANDWICHES
and other mcrsels from the miners fare'
dashed hot coffee in the faces OF the
helpless victims. They wound up the,r
shock troop operations with bomnaru i.
ment concentrated on neutral sheriff
and his deputy sworn to protect the
property and preserve the honor OF the
| ba iiiwick. The two officers were COM
pletely obliterated by a cross-nre OF
bread and butter and. the paper .r1ms anns
gained all objectives," and: though re-
norted to have been leaderleSS. they
| "were not unlike an unorganized ban6
of Carrie Nations; they displayed good
generalship."
Journal states, "kansas doesn't know
| how to stop it. They are calling for
cavalry and machine gun companies.
| in the hope that the Kansas soldier
| is less polite, more of caveman, than
the Kansas policeman. and .ney are
telegraphing frantically to Washing.
| ton for help. comfort and advice.
Rut of what avail are National Guard
troops, even though they include
| machine gun companies. infantry
companies, cavalry, field artillery and
Amazons?" asks the ST. Joseph News
Press; when the female of the
species assaults guardsman.
scratching his eyes or bashing him
with a rolling pin. what is the really
| brave soldier expected to do-consult
his manual of arms, or MS HANDBOOK
of social forms?'
To papers nearer home. however,
the situation is not altogether anus
| ing. Both the Wichita CKansO
Eagle and the Kansas City Times
protest the calling out of state troops.
for which the Times says there is
not Sufficient justification" Appar-
emily, it continues. "guardsmen
have been called to quell the riots
| of women in which no greater dam
age was done than the pelting of
officers and miners with bits Of bread
and butter taken from the dinner
and limb Of the Crawford county
constabulary." And In answer to the
governors threat of arrest and in
| generation in a military stockade
i the Eagle protests that "herding
women into open stockades in the
middle of winter. and putting young
| men as guards over them, is just a
trifie beyond the bounds of civilized
warfare and common decency.'
| Nevertheless this bit of old-world
realism creates quite a problem in
the district affected and the Salt
Lake Deseret News fears that 1.-The
problem extends considerably further
than those particular districts direct
ly disturbed" and 'ff such activities
| are not curbed there is no telling where
they may lead" Yet. the News con-
the curbing will be no easy task.
The fact that they are women, and
realisation of the provocation which
| they must feel. must be taken into
consideration in handling the situa-
tion." But, the Norfolk Virginian
Pilot asserts. they typify lawless-
ness in a malignant form," and the
danger, as the Adrian (Mich.) Tele-
gram sees it, is "the peculiar advan
tage women have as picketers and
their ability to exercise physical
force with an immunity which men
cannot possess. The universal respect
for their sex makes 1t possible for
them to carry out lawless acts with
comparative safety "1f the wom-
en- show they can win where the men
cannot the lure of success will be
strong" and since the women of the
Kansas mining district are doubtless
| little different in kind from those
of other mining centers." we can as
sumo that such q mob can be assem-
bled elsewhere. But the Telegram
hopes that some preventive fnfiu-
lenee viii assert itself before q ten