Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-21
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

During the prevalence Of the rail.
road strike so years ago. which was
Bills Rendered at it, various ai u r points'
for Troop Trains. t pstebsd were r. S dis
serve order. Surprise was caused
when later the railway companies
| over the lines Of which troops were
! transported rendered bills to the
| United States Government for this
service. The Star of August Is,
| 1877, says:
THE action Of the railroad com.
panies in sending in bills for the trans
! portation of the troops sent to quell
| the late labor riots and save their
! property from destruction is very
| much as IL the proprietor of a theater
should afterward demand regular
| rates of admission from the members
of fire company who in obedience to
an alarm might find 1t necessary to
enter the doors of his theater to pre-
vent 1t from being burned down.
Technically, perhaps, and in a purely
legal point of view, the railway com.
pany might have the best of it; but
the bad taste of the proceeding and
it's utter disregard for the decency
Of life are 80 apparent that in the
mind of the public the two transac-
tons will be placed on the same
footing.
But if the bills are to be paid at
all, it is the governments of the
States who called for the aid and not
that of the United States which ought
to finally pay them. 1t Is true, the
troops sent were those Of the United
States. and primarily we suppose the
War Department will have to pay
their expenses; but since their services
were called for by and rendered for
the benefit Of the threatened States
they clearly ought to reimburse the
public treasury for any money paid
out on that account. Some of the
States had no difficulty and others
quelled the disorder within their
borders with their own troops at their
own expense. Surely they should not
be taxed to pay a portion Of the ex-
pense of preserving the peace In those
States whose governments were too
weak or too inefficient to preserve the
lives and property Of their own
citizens"
II has been a long time since the
Chain gang" has been seen on the
streets of Washington, prison.
Chaln ers from the workhouse clad
c.nc in striped clothes and sent
wang forth to do the municipal chores
as part of their penalty for INSIDE
meanor. Fifty years ago. however,
the chain gang was a common specta-
Gle in the Capital. The following para
graph in The Star Of August Is, 1877,
refers to this now obsolete institutions:
Under date of August 8. Col. Lubey
sent a communication to the District
Commissioners complaining about the
frequent escapes of prisoners from the
chain gang, stating that as there are
only 20 prisoners in the gang and
men to oversee them, he can see no
good reason why these perpetual
escapes should be permitted. and ask
ing that such action may be taken by
the Commissioners as they may deem
proper and necessary. Enclosed were
also two communications from Supt.
j. w. Westfall relative to the escape
Of certain prisoners, and setting forth
that one Of the prisoners. William Car
Inns, was removed from the chain gang
August on United States warrant.
The matter was referred to Attorney
Birney as to the arrest of prisoner
for serving oct sentence with the
chain gang. The attorney states the
action of the, police in taking a pris-
oner from TIA chain gang upon
United States warrant was irregular"