The advocate. [volume], May 16, 1894, Page 5, Image 5

About The advocate. [volume] (Topeka, Kan.) 1894-1897

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
THE ADVOCATE,
UNDER ARREST.
(Continued from page 1.)
offered Sander and his men to get them
to agree to be arrested. It is probable
that the promise of a free ride to the
Missouri river was sufficient induce
ment And what was the object of the
Missouri Pacific and United States
officials in going after the arm7 is also a
matter of guess work. True, there were
fees in eight for the United States
officials but whether General Attorney
Waggeaer wai to have a share of these
fees, or whether he was playing a game
of bluff for glory, the writer knows not.
THE FIXST BLUFF.
Before leaving Topeka to encounter
the "enemy," Mr. Waggener heard that
Governor Lewelling had expressed him
self as not being afraid the Sanders men
would do an harm, and had said "Let
them come." The railroad official then
said, "I will make the governor show his
hand," so he sent him this message:
Topika, Kas., May 9, 1894.
Hon, L. D. Lewelling, Governor of Kansas:
My Diab Sib A mob consisting of about
500 men have stolen a train of oars belong
ing to the Missouri Faoiflo Railroad com
pany, and are now proceeding east with it
on the traoks of the company, and in a
manner to endanger the life and property
of the traveling public I have applied to
the authorities of Saline county to issue
warrants for the arrest of these parties for
bringing stolen property into the state, and
they decline to comply with my request, al
though proper affidavits therefor hare been
made and addressed to the county attor
ney. In this emergency the Missouri Pa
oiflo Railroad company appeals to you as
governor of Kansas to render such assist
ance as may be necessary to reeoue its prop
erty, protect the traveling public, and pre
vent further depredations by this organ
ized mob. Kindly adrise me at once, by
bearer, what, if any, steps you will take in
the premises. Tours truly,
B. P. Wagokkib, General Attorney.
To which tha governor replied under
same date, as follows:
Mr. B. P, Waggener, General Attorney for the
Missouri Pacific:
Diab Sib: I am in receipt of your com
munication of May 9, 1894, handed me by
a special messenger one hour ago, in which
you state that a mob of about 500 men have
stolen a train of cars belonging to your
company, and are proceeding east with it,
endangering the life and property of the
trveling public You ask me in this emer
gency as governor of the state to render as
sistanoe in securing your property and pro
tecting the traveling public.
In reply permit me to say that no official
information has been reoeived at this office
that the peace officers of any particular
county have failed or refused to perform
their duty.
If, as stated, the county authorities have
failed to act as demanded by your company,
it is safe to presume that in their opinion
no criminal offense has been committed.
I beg to say therefore that without addi
tional evidence and until the peace officers
themselves or the oitizens of the respective
counties are heard from, I would deem it
unwise to take offloial aotion. Indeed, if
the peaoe officers themselves have failed to
perform their duties, it still remains that
no authority is conferred by the statutes
upon the eieoutire except the power to
order out the militia of the state, and I
am constrained to beliefs that the oiroum
stanoea in the case are not sufficient to war
rant such aotion. L. D. Liwxlltsq,
Governor.
SHERIFF WANTS MILITIA.
On May 10, before the two "forces"
came together, the governor received
this message by wire:
Hobaob, Kas., May 10, 1894.
L. D. LevctUing, Governor of Kansas:
Am called upon to arrest here a body of
over 500 men who have taken forcible pos
session of a train of Missouri Pacific rail
way, and getting ready to start east with it.
I cannot gst force esough to oaks the t
rest. Will you send me two or three com
panies or militia? Answer quick.
Jamis Hubt, Sheriff.
The governor's reply was:
James Hurt, Sheriff, Horace, Kas,:
Telegram asking for troops to arrest 500
men who have stolen Missouri Pacific train
reoeived. Was train stolen in Kansas?
Have any depredations been committed in
your county? Have warrants been issued
and process been resisted? Are the men
still in your county?
L. D. Lawnxiso, Governor.
The following laconic correspondence
passed over the wires Friday forenoon:
Ox thj Road at Atxx, May 11, 1894.
Hon. L. D. Levelling:
Will arrive at Topeka at 1 p. m. with
General Sanders' army of 400 industrials.
Will you permit them to go into camp at
the state house yards? B. P. Wagoinib.
The executive council at once author
ized this reply:
U. P. Wagaeiur:
Permission is given for Sanders' army to
camp at tha oapitol grounds.
L. D. LiwiLtiNo,
R. S; Osbohx, Governor.
Secretary Exeoutive Counoil.
TOPEKA RECEJ.VIS.
The "prisoners" were not brought
from Scott- City in freight cars, but in
four painted passenger coaches to which
was attached the one in which the offi
cers went out. On their arrival here
they were hailed by a large crowd of
citizens at the depot. The ooaoh doors
were all locked, but the men were con
tent to receive congratulations, sympa
thy, tobacco, provisions, and whatever
else was offered, through the open win
dows. They did not feel like prisoners,
because they could all have gotten out
and walked away had they wanted to do
so. They were very cheerful to think
they had made such rapid progress. The
coaches were sidetraoked in South To
peka while Marshal Neeley waited for
instructions from wasnmgton as to what
should be done with the prisoners.
Strong indignation was aroused among
the citizens by the information that the
industrials had not been well fed during
the day. Citizens of Soott City had
given them a beef, and the marshal had
provided a light lunch at Hoisington,
but the crowd was too big for the ra
tions. During the afternoon provisions were
sent down by several citizens, and that,
added to the cheese and crackers fur
nished by the marshal, appeased their
hunger. At nightfall militia tents were
obtained from the state arsenal and the
men were commanded to leave the cars
and go into camp, which they did. They
remained in camp until Saturday even
ing when they were loaded onto a Santa
Fe train and taken to Fort Leavenworth.
All the time they were acting as prison
ers though the half dozen alleged guards
had nothing to do but look on and ad
mire the nerve of their captives. The
universal verdict of Topeka was that
tha industrials are a very Intelligent and
well behaved crowd of men. Most of
them have lately been miners though
having previously been in some other
occupation. They are well disciplined
having enlisted under the following ar
ticles which are strictly adhered to:
RULES AND REGULATIONS.
We, the undersigned, American citizens
of Cripple Creek, 1 Paso oounty, state of
Colorado, do hereby organize ourselves into
a body to be known as the Cripple Creek
legion of the Coxey industrial army, and
hereby plsdze ourselves to the following
rules and regulations of said army:
Sictios 1. The object and purpose of
the said army are to maroh to Washington
as a peaoeable organization and demand of
congress suoh legislation as will be bene
ficial to the general mass of laboring peo
ple and federations of labor organizations
throughout the United Staiea of America.
8 jo. 2. 8 uoh lejiiUticn. t w's ihjU re
quire shall be to restore silver at a rate of
16 to 1, and also the free and unlimited
coinage.
Sec 3. We will petition congress in per.
son for the passage of an irrigation bill.
Said bill shall be for the purposs of irrigat
ing millions of acres of desert land through
out Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Kan
sas, California, Washington, Nevada, Utah,
Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, thus giv
ing employment to thousands of now un
employed men and homes for thousands of
families.
As we have heretofore petitioned con
gress many times for the passage of such
bills as would be benefloial to the people of
the western states and suoh petitions have
always been ignored, therefore, be it
Resolved, That we as Amenoan oitizens
do form and organize an army of the un
employed to maroh to Washington and ask
oongress in person for the passage of suoh
bills as will restore prosperity and dot the
now barren district with happy homes.
Industrial Army Notes.
The Galvin contingent, which was or
ganized in Ohio, has reached Greens
burg, Pa.
Coxey's company have gone into quar
ters six miles out of Washington, on the
Maryland side.
The Sanders men were to have their
preliminary hearing before the United
States commissioner at Leavenworth on
Tuesday of this week.
Coxey, Browne and Jones were found
guilty in the Washington police court
of carrying banners and walking on the
grass in the capitol grounds. They have
moved for a new trial
Kelley's army, which had suoh a seri
ous time getting from Omaha to Des
Moines, is now called "Kelly's navy."
They are making their way toward St.
Louis in Hat boats built tor the purpose.
A mass meeting called by the "Coxey
ite reserves" was held in Denver on Sun
day, and addressed by Grand Master
Workman Sovereign and others. Fully
10,000 people were present yet the press
reporters called it a failure.
It is not a cheerful fact, but a fact
nevertheless, that there are more work
ingmen now on the way to Washington
than there has been since the movement
started. A few companies have dis
banded for lack of honeet leadership,
while many new ones have been organ
ized. Excitement In Colorado.
Denver, May 11. "General" Ilegwer,
commander-in-chief of the Coxey re
serve army announces, that 25,000 men
are ready to move on to Washingron
from Colorado in one body, and when
the other states west of the Mississippi
are heard from the day of starting will
be set.
Rev. Myron Reed in a sermon on the
Coxey movement said: "I would like to
a half million of the unemployed
camped in and around the national reser
vation, called the District of Columbia.
From there the most of our woes have
come, to there let them return; let the
chickens hatched in and about Washing
ton go home and roost."
NOTES AND COMMENT.
The Brooklyn tabernacle, Dr. Tal
mage's church, was destroyed by fire
last Sunday.
Niagara county, New York, which
polled 450 Populist votes last fall, polled
1,900 at the spring election. The party
is dying, you know.
Oregon has its election in June and
.Alabama in August. Keep your eye on
them. Oregon has formerly been repub
lican and Alabama democratic
There is no consolation in the report
ftafHttli JUj ClmlwJ li ft d:t
mutes however much we may think tha
visitation was intended for her papa and
came a generation too late.
A beautiful bronze statue of Cjlum
bus was unveiled in Cantral park, New
York, the other day. In his oration
Chauncey Depew spoke of America's
glorious history but did not say any
thing about congress or the common
weal army.
The unveiling of the statue of Mary
Washington at Fredericksburg, ;Va., on
May 9, was attended by the president
and his cabinet, the vice-president, Chief
Justice Fuller, and many other super
numeraries. Senator Daniels "orated"
for tha occasion.
Congressman McCann, democrat, of
Illinois, has reported a resolution to op
point a committee and inquire into tha
depression of business and laok of em
ployment. It is similar to P offer's mo
lutiou and will probably meet the same
fata. , Cranks are inoreasmg.
E. M. Wardall, chairman of tha Cali
fornia Populist central committee, sends
the most encouraging reports to his
brother in Topeka, Alonzs Wardall.
The convention in his oounty, loa An
geles, has declared for direct legislation,
equal suffrage, nationalization of tha
liquor traffic, and non-partisanship of
the judiciary. Mr. Wardall thinks tha
state convention will adopt a similar
platform.
A dispatch from Indianapolis says:
"A monster meeting of organized labor
waaheld Sunday afternoon under the
auspices of the Central Labor union.
The speakers were Eugene V. Debs
president of the New American Railway
union, and George W. Howard, vice
president. They said their organization
is opposed to strikes but that until cor
porations realize their power strikes
must be resorted to in the last instance.
The new organization, it is said, would
figure in politics, cot on questions of
wages, which organization only could
wisely deal with, but of shorter hours.
Rasolutions were adopted indorsing the
Coxey movement and calling for ft labor
convention at Washington.
WAGES OF MINERS.
We hear a great deal of talk about the
miners in Colorado refusing to work at
$2 CO a day, and this is presented as an
argument to show that they don't want
to work. The truth is that there is only
work for a certain number of men, and
no matter how cheaply they would work
there would be thousands out of employ
ment They know as well as their em
ployers know what the proht on their
work is, and it is only a question as to
whether the few who work shall have a
fair share of the profit or the operators
shall have it all. The Sanders man be
lieve that when only a few men can be
employed, those few ought to be given a
chance to get what they earn.
Again, the mine operators claim that
the low price of the product doss net
justify their paying the rate of wsgea
asked. It that is true, they ought not
to condemn the movement toward Wash
ington, which may result in better piy
for both employer and employe, whila
there is no possibility of making matters
in general any worse.
The sentiment of the 'commonwsil
movement is, like that of the People's
party, cot to drag down any . class cf
people, but to raise what is called Un
lower class to a possibility of oomf?rt.
This is the sentiment which meet3 riV.i
such bitter opposition from republic; :i
and democrats, and this is what tb
call paternalism. The trend of mcxhr
republicanism and modern democracy h
to concentrate the wealth produced ty
labor, and let the wtalthy, La their ts?r
fiar msrcvj tail csra cf tos pesr, 1