A. As a member of a grand jury, I cannot tell who swore to these facts,
although I did make certain facts public. I can state here the facts
that came before me--that the general of the Sixth division here was
called several hours before the civil authorities were called upon.
That he was at the railroad depot, and in communication with the State
authorities. That he was called there by the State authorities to
consult with them. Under the law, I take it, that the civil authorities
must come in as a sort of figure head. It was not intended that the
sheriff could get any posse of our citizens to put down the riot, but
he had to follow up the requirements of the law. That was after the
railroad had called upon the State to do this work, being perfectly
aware that we had no police force sufficient. The sheriff did his full
duty. It was not the fault of the mayor that there was no police. So I
do not think the railroad, if they intended to meet this thing, had
anything else to do but to call on the State. I think it is a most
dangerous power, and one that will stab the liberties of this country,
that by the click of the telegraph they can call for a thousand armed
men, instead of exhausting the civil authority, if it takes two weeks
to do it. It is a dangerous power to give them.
By Senator Yutzy:
Q. You claim that they have the power to compel the Governor to furnish
troops?
A. Who?
Q. The sheriff or the railroad company?
A. I say it is a power entrusted to him, that Mr. Scott can call on the
Governor of the State and furnish transportation, after the sheriff
only says so, because the sheriff must conform with the law.
Q. Is that dangerous that he has that right?
A. It is dangerous that any man has a right to ... with a thousand
armed troops.
Q. It is dangerous for anyone to have that power?
A. The Governor or any other man. The bill reads: It says that the
military shall be subordinate to the civil authorities. It means that
the civil power are paramount, and the military should never be called
in except to kill--they are not to be degraded into police.
Q. I want to know whether you wish to convey the idea that the railroad
company or the sheriff has the power to call out the military, or that
he can only make a request, and the Governor has the power?
A. Under the old militia law of the State the sheriff could call them
out, or General Pearson, or the major general in command of this
division, and he could oblige them to serve as a posse. As it is
to-day, he cannot do it.
By Mr. Lindsey:
Q. I understand, from what you have already said, that it was not
necessary, in your opinion, to call out the militia in this instance,
at the time they were called?
A. I don't exactly mean that, but I do mean to say, it seemed to be the
only power at hand, as we have not enough provided in the city or
county. It was ill advised and bad judgment when they were called to
put them inside of the mob, and not to keep them in reserve. The
purpose of a soldier is simply to kill, and it was particularly ill
advised on Saturday, in the teeth of protests made by representative
citizens. It could effect nothing but what it did effect, and that was
violence in every form.
Q. You had not sufficient police force here to cope with a mob of its
extent and power?
A. No, sir.
Q. The sheriff had not sufficient force to cope with it?
A. No.
Q. And I understand it would be folly for the sheriff to attempt to
raise a posse of citizens to cope with it--then there was nothing left
but to call out the military?
A. I do not see anything else--if they intended to do what they
supposed they could do. I do not think it was necessary to call out
anybody.
Q. You think it was ill advised, to undertake to move trains at the
time?
A. They could not have moved a train, because they had not the men to
move it, but they could have done there what they did elsewhere. They
could have let it exhaust itself. The very presence of the soldiers
begat excitement, and if they intended to intimidate the great crowd, I
suppose the calling of the soldiers would do that, if they had cool
leaders, men who understood what was to be done in an exigency of that
sort. They ought not to be thrown into a crowd to be assaulted by
stones.
Q. Would the mob have exhausted itself before there would have been
great destruction of property?
A. There would not have been any destruction of property whatever.
Q. Would not there not have been a loss of perishable property that was
in transit, too?
A. They seemed to be willing to make provision even for that. It seems
to me the whole labor movement has failed signally in strikes in coal
mines, in mills, and in large places, because it was only local, and
the whole community failed to sympathize with them. They failed to get
their rights by strikes, because it did not affect the general
interests. They discovered, for the first time, where forty millions of
people could be stricken as with a blow, by all the people on these
roads refusing to work. They found out, for the first time, where the
weak point was, as well as the strong point, in this country. They can
do it again. When the employés--brakemen, trainmen, conductors, and
engineers will agree not to run a railroad in this country, that is the
end of traffic, and they can starve out whole communities. They
discovered that fact, and then it was on Saturday evening, that labor
sympathizing with those people, they partook of the strike, and helped
to burn cars and carry on the work of destruction. That is a danger we
are subject to, and the Governor, in this city, when he came back from
the West, the very first proclamation he issued, was this: