MOBS OF WORKLESS

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVIII, Issue 90, 18 April 1914, Page 7

MOBS OF WORKLESS

APROBLEM IN UNITED STATES

A TRANSCONTINENTAL ARMY,

IN CONFLICT WITH SOLDIERS

VIOLENCE AND LAWLESSNESS

SAN FRANCISCO, 15th March. A marked recrudescence of the unemployed problem in various parjts of the United States, having its chief manifestation in the setting out of an army of 1500 workless men from California across the continent to Washington, the national capital, is likely to have an important bearing on the Congressional elections later in the year. The Republican party, now in a minority in bqth branches of Congress, blames the Democrats for the condition, and asserts that the Democratic policies,, particularly the induction of the' tariff duties, have brought .about. hard ytimes. What ever be the cause, it is an admitted fact than not in the last seven years have there been so many idle men in the United States', as there are today. • Almost every large city in the ■country is troubled with the task of caring for the jobless, and in a number of instances the discontent and needs of this unfortunate class have been so workied upon by agitators of the Workers of the World class that they have resorted to violence .and lawlessness.

WILD DISORDER. In New York a mob of unemployed entered a .church in which were many worshippers, and the wildest disorder ensued,;flue in some measure to the efforts of the police to separate "the intruders from the worshippers. Several hundred men were arres,ted and taken to gaol. The demonstration was organised by the Independent Workers of the World, and was planned as a demonstration to draw attention to the^condition of the" workless. In CalTtornia there has been serious rioting, and neither the State nor the counties through which tho army of men is marching on the way to Washington seems to have any conception of how to handle the prob- ! lem.-The circumstances of the gen- i esis and conduct of this band of men j are remarkable. - It originated in! San: Francisco, into which city unem- j picked, men from all parts: of the i State had;crowded/z^^^T^ leaders^ of the army was to (juarter themselves on successive communities along the way, demand food arid! and transportation to the ! nexrb stopping place. From San Francisco they crossed ffchie bay at their own expense, and Alameda County was faced with the task of caring for the 1500 penniless men. Alameda County decided to capitulate, or at least partially so. It gave i the SnVadisrs two meals, and tbfen shunted them along to the next cou-nty^ Contra Costa.' The jobless men did not. want to move on so quickly, but a big force of police, armed with clubs, which they did not scruple to use, forced them across the twrder line into Contra Costa County. This latter county,, having conferred with its neighbor, Solano, was prepared to .meet the situation. At the i expense of the two Jnst named couh- : ties railroad ticket/, to the city of Sacramento, capital of the State, were purchased, and the undesirables were passed along. DRASTIC STEPS. The treatment accorded the unemployed at Sacramento was effective &nd prompt, if cruel and somewhat I brutalising. Having learned that the i men did not propose to work—jobs \ having been offered to a number of I them by the Governor (Mr Hiram W. | , Johnson)—£he officials of Sacramento j ■determined upon drastic steps to rid ! the city and county. A river separ- j ates Sacramento and Yolo/ counties.' i The mob was told to cross the bridge-i into Yolo. This they refused to j do, and their leader "General" Kel- j ley, was arrested. Then a. big force-! of soldiers, policemen, and special j otticers was organised, and ithe j;rowd ! of jobless men was driven, clubbed, I kicked, and otherwise forced over the ' bndge into Yolo. A pitiless stream \ ot water thrown on them through a i hose struck panic into the mob, and I although some _of - them fought back the -great, .majority rushed helter-' ■ skelter frfom Ssvcramerjto over the! bridge. Opposed to the unemployed . .-army were 500 members of the militia, (0 policemen, 200 special deputies 1-50 volunteers, besides firemen and railroad policemen. Of those who resisted some fifty were arrested To prevent the return of the unwelcome mob, Sacramento is' maintaining a large force day and night at the bridge. From Yolo. the unemployed demand transportation to Reno, in Nevada. The (conditions in their camp are very insanitary, and an outbreak of .typhoid fever is feared by doctors. J Demonstration of unemployed are also reported from Boston and Chicago. In the fi>st-ra.entioned city a deputation wriitod on the" Committee !n i °Clf ] T^ I?a™ of the legislature and asked for aid. There arp st-^^i htato of MassfJcJiusetts, of which ■~.-Jfcsfcon is the chief city, and 45^000

in Chicago. The discontent in Boston is apparent from the bitter tone of tthe speeches of the unemployed leaders, which have been taken down Sn shorthand at the order of the Chief of Police. These speeches have called for the adoption of "the tactics of the French, revolution." On the day on which these sentiments were uttered 190 men and one woman were arrested by the police.

It may be that something will be done to alleviate the evil of unemployment by th©" work of the Industrial Relations Committee of Congress, which is entering upon an exhaustive investigation of the subjects in all parts of the country. Irregularity of employment, its causes, and the possibility of ending it, and increasing production through scientific management are within the scope of the work of the committee. It will' take evidence in all the principal cities of America, and will have the assistance of experts.