Year: 1877

The Disorderly Element.


The violence which has accompanied
the railroad strikes has been unprec-
dented in extent, but is by no means in
explicable. AS we have already re-
marked, it would be an error to take it
as an illustration of the spirit of the
working classes, or even to lay the
greater part of it to the charge of the
strikers themselves. But the share
which the later had in it, and the
amount and kind of sympathy which
the lawlessness we have seen has met
with, have been exceedingly discredita-
BILE. They are also the signs of GER
tain tendencies at the bottom of Ameri-
can society which have long been
watched with anxiety, and which may
yet make good deal of trouble.


The rioting spirit that has prevailed
for the past week is due in the main to
development of trades-unionism, the
other, the growth of an idle and vicious
class which necessarily goes on, pari
passu, with the increase of our popula-
tion, its concentration in cities Of
greater or less size, and the segregation
of workers in special trades and classes
in consequence of the subdivision of
labor The evil side which has been
seen in American trades-unions for q
long time has been deeply regretted by
the more intelligent of their members,
and by all who have recognized in these
organizations instruments capable of
doing much good, Of securing justice
for labor in its essential relations to
capital, and of bringing wage-laborers
themselves up to higher standard of
intelligence, efficiency, and general
well-being 1t has taken form mainly
in the abuse of power, in the resort to
compulsion where compulsion was
neither eXpedient nor justifiable.
This has been due partly to the want of
reflection and sufficient information
among the unionists, but chiefly to the
reckless ambition of demagogic leaders.
The unions are, on small scale, demo-
cratic societies; and they have fallen
prey to the schemers who have always
infested such societies. The small
direct personal interest of each
member has proved too weak motive to
make head against the restless passions
of ambitious leaders. No one member
has had that much to lose Immediately
by letting violent and interruptions
man get into position of influence,
while the aspirant himself had much to
gain. Once in position, such leaders
4
trouble, in order to obtain accessions to
show their power, and even in order to
make their petty profits therefrom. In
this way the greater part of the hopeless,
wasteful, unavailing strikes into
which various trades have been dragged
have taken place, and in the majority
of cases a deliberate expression of the
candid opinion of the body of the men
interested would have prevented the
strikes, or at least prevented lawlessness
when the strikes occurred.


But there has, nevertheless, been a
certain spirit of lawlessness among the
body of the trades-unions. In the re-
cent strikes there has been a general
and prompt readiness on the part of all
the class affected to step boldly across
the line of right and law, and not only
to assert their own resolution not to
work, but to prevent others from
working, however much they wished
to do so. The strikers have not been
responsible for all the violence-per-
haps for very little of it-but they
began it by intimidating the men who
took their places, and by stopping
trains by main force. There is only
difference in degree between this and
firing cars, burning depots and stoning
policemen. The wrong was Il double
one. because it not only injured the
property rights of employers, but it
also took the bread from the mouths of
men who were willing to work and for
whom work was waiting. An organi-
; zation which fosters such conduct is
not only badly led, but its members are
actuated by bad spirit, unworthy Of
the citizens of Republic, and entirely
unworthy of the high aims proposed by
the etrades-unionsth themselves.


But the most conspicuous, if not the
most important, feature of the riots at
Baltimore and Pittsburg, has been the
share taken in them by the thieves,
ruffians and loafers of the respective
places. 1t is not to be denied that
! these, forming our dangerous Glass;"
are every year growing more numerous
, Perhaps their increase is only relative
to their former numbers, and not rela-
tive to the entire population. There is
no accessible information to determine
that question. But supposing this to
be the case, the actual increase is plain,
and the consequences to which it may
lead are only too clearly to be read in
history of the troubles of last week.


The wanton destruction of property
has been very great, and the loss of
life has been considerable. The possi-
bility of such riot as took place in
Pittsburg, in comparatively small
city, whose population is principally
industrial. and which forms one Of the
chief railroad and manufacturing CEN
ters of powerful state, is certainly a
=. fact to which we cannot give too much
attention. What occurred on Satur-
day and Sunday at Pittsburg may
' happen at Buffalo, at Albany, at New
York; at any large town; wlren the oc-
casion offers. Apparently the occa-
sion, in this case, was not a very threat
ening one, but the events which attend
ed it have shown that there are capaci-
ties for disorder in our cities which
d cannot be safely overlooked. In short,


with our growth in wealth and numbers
Il and in industrial activity, we are grad