Year: 1877

It is cheerful to find any consolation j,


looking back at calamity like that which


visited the country in the recent strikes, eve,


though it be only comparative. So Chicago
| Taxpayers may congratulate themselves now
! that they nro not confronted with the pros


pect Of making good to corporations aud in,
! dividuals several millions Of dollars worth o1


property destroyed by mob. This is the


stern necessity which stares Pittsburg in the


face The Pittsburs newspapers arc now ell


engaged in writing history Of the strike Mt
i that point, Of the character and conduct of
the mob, Of the action Of the local ofhcioIs


during the two or three days reign of terror;


and they ore cndeayoring to shape it III such


q way as to relieve the City Of Pittsburg and
| Allegheny County from tie pecuniary liabili-
| ty for the losses suffered at the hands of tic
mob.


We fancy TINT this purpose will not be


easy Of accomplishment. The law of Penn-
sylvapia expressly makes the local govern
! ments responsible fo5; the destruction Of
property by mob violence. Even the Pitts


burg papers do not deny the business of tho


law, and, indeed, an express statute merely


formulates principle which would hold if


the law were not written out in the statute.
books. But the Pittsburg people, if fairly
represented by tile Commercial Gazette OF
that city, are now urging that the Lesisla-
ture shall enact a law saadling the loss in the
present case upon the Statc,' and relieving
Allegheny County from carrying the whole
Of the burden alone. The llue of argument
used to justify this appeal is that the
calamity was a common one, which
visited the whole country; -that tic
outbreak Of the strike Wes accidental, nnd
that it would have been concerted if it had
been deferred few weeks later; that Pitts
burg's greater suffering warned other CON-
munities in time, and enabled Them to make
preparations against similar assault and
so on. But the weak point in this statement
is tue omission Of tho influence on the mob
of the evident pusillanimity Of the city and
county authorities, and the palpable SYM
pathy which the citizens Of Pittsburg showed
with the mob at the first. We hare no
disposition to interfere in the matter; but it
is not probable that the remainder Of the |
State will care to share the loss, when the !
citizens Of Pittsburg allowed State troops to |
be driven off that were se6t there to protect
property.


Chicngo's interest in this phase Of the late
riots is one of self graduation that We have
escaped the penalty of failure On the part
Of local government to afford property and
life the protection for which local govern
nent is established, and in consideration of
which the citizens submit to taxation. There
is no specific statute in this State fixing the
liability Of municipal corporations in such
:ases, but the principle of law is 50 clear
hat such liability could not be escaped. It
$ not surprising that taxpayers stood aghast
luring the two or three days the authorities
with the growing mob; and the
esson which Pittsburg's experience ought to
each is. the necessity for providing such !
means of protection as will avert similar
experience when the mob threatens again.