The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1894.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 164, 11 July 1894, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 1894.

For tia casus tint lacks assislanos, Fer tho xnias that needs rosistance, I'dr tha future ia iho (frztanco, Aaa the good, tliat tto can as.

Our cablegrams during the past few days indicate a much more serious condition of affairs in the United States than ba.c; occurred since the termination of the Civil war of 1862-5. During late years there have been strikes and riots on a large scale, but all sink into insignificance in comparison with the semi-civil war of today. Notwithstanding that America claims to be the freest country on the planet, it is evident enough that workmen are as discontented there as id

any European country. In the United Slates as elsewhere it is the same; struggle, but with fiercer and more tragic events attending it. It is Labour against Capital. At present Labour bas assumed the aggressive, gigantic strikes, armed mobs, bioody riots, incendiary fires, railway lines torn up, and 2,000 Pullman cars said to have been burned at or near Chicago. (We think this number will be reduced to 2co cars,) The viciousness of the

Chicago mobs is apparent from the list of numerous incendiary acts, amongst Tvhich the most significant is, that " Twenty city centres in Chicago were fired simultaneously, the mob cutting the wires and stopping the use of the , fire alarm signals." At first the Government appears to have been paralysed. VVe say appears, for President Cleveland is a man of great determination, and this being his second term of office, he'can have" no fear of the ballot box before his eyes, having no intention of standing for President for a third term. For assuming a strong and decisive position the President is not very well prepared. Our telegrams show that the Governor of Illinois and Mayor of Chicago sympathise with the strikers and the Governor opposed the employment of United States troops in restoring order. The militia, about 102,000 men, drawn largely from the workmen, sympathise strongly with the strikers. The regular troops do not amount to more than 25,000 men. Seeing that the males employed in trade and transportation at the census 0/ 1890 amounted to 1,750,000, and those engaged in manufacturing, mechanical aud mining industries numbered 3,205,000, it is plain enough that President Cleveland will find it no easy matter to deal with these four "million men, if, as is not improbable, a large proportion ol them sympathise with the armed mobs which are causing so much suffering, misery, loss and ruin in the Middle and Western States. In this Jast resort there are the seven millions engaged in agriculture, who now, as always, are the mainstay of every country, and the chief security ;or the peace, order and good governor the land they live in.

In IS9O the number of citizens of militia age was 13,200,000. Of these 2,800,000 were foreign born. Of the total number the President, in case of war, is entitled to enrol 7,500,000. President Cleveland knows what an overwhelming force is available in the event of a great emergency. Naturally, like all constitutional rulers, he is strongly averse to adopt measures necessarily extremely severe; bat if civil commotion be allowed to continue unchecked much longer he is well enough aware that unchecked riot very soon becomes a virtual rebellion, which would involve a great deal of bloodshed before it j could be subdued, whilst a prompt, I decisive treatment of such a civil i commotion as that now raging in the United States is at once the wisest and most merciful policy, even if it cause the loss of hundreds of lives. Fully realising this, the President has at last proclaimed martial law in Chicago, and adopted such resolute measures to assert and uphold the law that the rioters have become cowed.

It says little for universal suffrage and free representative institutions in the United States that such a lawless and alarming state of things as is now existing there should have been possible. There must be "something rotten in the state of Denmark," or such things could not be. The causes are not far to seek. The " stuffing "of ballot boxes, the " caucus," the political " boss," the professional political demagogue, and the generally mercenary character of the United States politics and trade, account for a good deal of the lawless proceedings now dishonouring the Republic.

But besides and below these causes, : there is without any doubt a deep and dangerous discontent amongst American artisans generally. The long hours of toil, amounting practically to white slavery ; the wages of workmen, nominally high, but owing to the enormously enhanced cost of everything a working-man needs, except food, which is cheap enough, leave nothing for a rainy day. There is no doubt that the patience of labourers both in town and country has been sorely tried by the policy so Jong in vogue. Whilst under this system a limited number of employers have amassed enormous fortunes—the last thirty years having prodaced a larger number of millionaires than exists in all the rest of the world—the great body of the workmen, both in factories and on farms, has year by year become poorer and poorer. t

The policy of the United States has at last borne its natural fruit in the very serious condition of the Republic to-day. What makes the state of matters much more difficult to deal with, is the existence in the United States—chiefly in the great cities—of

2,800,000 males of foreign birth, rather more than half of these being from the United Kingdom and Germany, most of whom become good citizens. But the rest, a million or more, consists of a motley crowd of Italians, Bohemians and scalliwags, who having escaped from the semi-slavery of their native lands, have promptly been endowed with the votes and the privileges of the native born citizens, which they either don't know how to use, or employ to the injury of the country which has provided them with an asylum.

The great wave of unrest has at last burst upon the United States. The long-deferred battle between Capita! jand Labour bids fair to assume gigantic proportions. Any indecision now on the part of President Cleveland may produce results which will shock the civilised world. Conciliation, shorter hours, a fairer distribution of the profits of unfettered industry would have rendered such an alarming condition practically impossible. But now, unless Anarchy is to prevail, the danger can only be met by strong repressive measures, for even the worst law is infinitely better than " mob law." When the storm is over, the United States will have learnt the important lesson, that mere wealth is not real progress, and that conciliation and fair play to all are a better solution of the difficulties between Labour and Capital than exaction and tyranny and force.