For the first time in the history of the Flat River district it has become necessary to call on the Governor of the State to send troops here to preserve the peace. We have had outbreaks in the past, but in no instance did they in any measure approach in seriousness the riot which occurred this week. The cause seems to be the culmination of long pent-up prejudice against both the companies and the foreigners. The strange part of it all is that the enmity has been visited almost entirely on the foreigners, who in the main have been shipped in here by labor agencies, and are not really responsible for their presence in the district. In addition the government has opened the doors to the people of all the world and has bid them welcome to our shores, with the guarantee that in free America they will be entitled to enjoy all the rights of citizenship so long as they remain within the law.
The men who instigated this riot do not seem to realize that they have committed a lawless act. No man or set of men, no matter what the provocation may be, have the right to take the law into their own hands. We do not believe that the men realized what in the usual order of things was bound to happen when this riot started. Leaders no doubt thought they would be able to control the men and thus prevent looting and destruction of property. That they were mistaken can be amply proven by a visit to every foreign settlement in the district, but more especially at Rivermines and Federal.
Some bitterness has been expressed against the presence of the troops. There is a personal note in this criticism which ought not to exist. The troops are here, not because they are delighted with this visit, but because they are soldiers, and when the Governor of the State called on them at the request of the sheriff, who was unable to control the situation, it was their duty to obey without question. The troops are conducting themselves, so far as we have been able to learn, in a gentlemanly manner, and have shown no disposition to exercise undue authority. Maj. Stepp and his corps of officers are high class men and representative of the best citizenship in the State. Their purpose here is to protect life and property and to assist the county authorities in restoring law and order. In this they ought to have the co-operation of every citizen who has the welfare of the community at heart.
That there has been discrimination in favor of the foreigners is almost beyond question. This has been aggravated by statements which some of the foreigners are alleged to have made concerning the army draft which will probably take place early next week. Much of the discrimination, we believe, has been the work of petty bosses, who in their zeal to produce results have done some things which surely have escaped the attention of the men higher up. No matter what the causes may have been, order must be brought out of chaos. All discussions of an inflamatory nature must be tabooed.
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