Jackson advocate., 1963-09-07
Negroes March
Continued From Page One)

Continued From rage One)
This first march" of 1888
took place as the Continental
Congress was sitting in Phila-
delphia, and some unpaid ex-
soldiers arrived threatening
trouble. The Congress fled to
Princeton, NJ. but quickly re-
turned after General Washing
ton warned he would send
troops to deal with the demon
stratOrs.
What many people believe is
the first real bona fide march
on Washington occurred In
1894, following severe de-
preston, and was stage man
aged by General" Coxey,
stone-quarry operator from
Massillon, Ohio. His answer
for the unemployment and
hardship of that day (Which
he said came to him in a
dreamy was to issue money
"at cost"-that is with only
enough interest to pay for the
printing-and to use the pro-
ceeds for public works, partic-
ularly road building.
The idea caught fire and
"armies" rallied around the
country, but only about 800
ragged and tired men actually
followed Coxey. leader of his
Good Roads Association and
the Commonwealth of Christ
into Washington, where in a
brush with police Coxey and
his two aides, Carl Browne and
Christopher Jones, were ar
rested, thus ending his 35-day
march from Ohio. Remnants
! of his army stayed around for
weeks. but the march was
something Of a fiasco.
CoXey revived his program
during the 1914 recession and
staged another march on Wash
ington, this time actually de-
livering an address from the
steps of the Capitol. But sup
port was thin and caused little
if any stir.
Another kind of march on
Washington, however, took
place the previous year-1913.
Woodrow Wilson was just
entering the White House and
leaders of the Women's Right
to Vote Movement decided il
was time to act.
General Rosalie Jones and
a group from New York hiked
250 miles through mud. rain,
snow, to the capyital; and amid
jeers and cheers these suffra-
gettes literally took the capital
by storm. Finally four years
later they won the right TO vote
through a constitutional
amendment.
Marches really did not come
into their own until the onset
of the great depression in 1929.
In December, 1881, hunger"
marchers. organized by left
wingers and Communists, de-
scended on the capital. They
shouted and marched, 1900
strong, singing the "Interna-
tional" and other Communist
songs. according to the news
reports of the day. After being
rebuffed at the Capitol and the
White House they eventually
left Washington.
A month later. however. an
other huge march, this time
led by Roman Catholic priest,
the Rev. James Cox Of Pitts
burgh, in motor caravan
10000 or more strong de-
scended on Washington. Cox's
laying OF wreatns rney returned
TO Pittsburgh.
Strange Chapter ;.
Then IN 1892 came one OF the
.Strangest chapters in the his
tory Of marches on the capital.
Walter Waters, of Portland,
Ore, organized an ex-service-
mems bonus march on the cap
ital-a BEF. or Bonus Expedi-
tionary Force-which by the
time he reached Washington
had picked up some 10000 fol-
lowers.
They made makeshift camps
and built shacks on the Ana
costa flats. The city did its best
to try to take care of them, but
the sanitary conditions of the
bonus marchers became worse
and worse. Congress voted
money to get them to leave
Washington. Few took advan-
tage of the offer.
The. upshot was that the
President finally had to order
the Army to clear the bonus
army out of Washington. The
troops under the command
OF Gen. Douglas Macarthur
pushed them across the Ana
costa River, the veterans firing
their shacks as they went. The
bonus march was over, but not
without the use of tear gas
and. many minor injuries.
Marches since then have been
less violent and spectacular.
But demonstrations by small
numbers and groups have in
creased-hunger marches, "dirt
farmer" marches, "a cap-and-
gown march of college
graduates.
During the SOS, there were
Rosenberg sympathizers pick
eting and marching in the cap
ital, American-Hungarians pro-
testing the Soviet Unions role
in stamping out the revolt in
Hungary, peace walkers, civil
rights demonstrators.
But never before anything
Like this Aug. % march on
Washington for numbers and
organization.