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not nave Deen averted.MANAGING MOBS OF RIOTERS-General Jourdan Points Oat the Costly Mis*take Made by the Cincinnati Authorities.Special to the Commercial Gazette.New Yoek, April 1.—General Joqrdan, for more than twenty years connected with military and police affairs, part of the time as Superintendent of the Brooklyn Police Department, when asked to-day, if, in his opinion, the Cincinnati outbreak could have been suppressed at once under proper police surveillance, said; “In myfopinion, certainly, if the police force had been properly managed. The rioters, at the very first demonstration of their lawless purpose, should have been clubbed, and tbei/C ringleaders arrested. A mob is always cowardly at the start, superior numbers alone make ' it desperate and formidable.’’ “Were the authorities in Cincinnati not taken by surprise, and therefore unprepared for the emergency?”“They should not have been taken by surprise; mutterings of discontent were long in the air. There were forty-two murderers in the jail, and the people were aroused to great indignation over the escape of one of them from the gallows. Public spirit was aroused, and the feeling of discontent was shared in by all respectable citizens. The object of the Music Hall meeting waa in every way commendaole, but the result of It was to fan the flame into lawlessnesis. The police authorities ought to have been prepared for a possible sequel pf this kind, and should have been in readiness to nip the trouble in the bud. The first demonstration of violence should have been put down with a firm hand, and clubs should have been used with vigor. Had this been done, there would not have been the subsequent necessity for the bayonet and the bullet, in my opinion, there is nothing short of revolution that can’t be handled by a properly organise?! police force.“TJie number of boniflde rioters who attack, for the alleged cause of redressing some real or fancied wrongs, is always small. They, however, give opportunity for the lawless elements in every large community to crystallize, and robbery, plunder and incendiarism are sure to follow.”“Ho°w would you use the troops in case of riot?” *“I would keep the troops in the background as long as possible. I would keep them out of sight till the last moment. When the civil authorities have been overawed and become powerless, I would then summon the military and bring them to the front in quick order. I would also have them fire bullets and not blank cartridges, and if these were not sufficient, I would bring out the artillery, and sweep the streets with grape $md canister. When the presence of the military is premature, riot is Incited Instead of suppressed. When soldiers are brought out, the people should thoroughly understand that they are brought out to do deadly work, if necessary.”“Could the summoning of the military in Cincinnati have been avoided?”“I believe it could, had the rioters in the first place been met with a well-disciplined, effective and well-handled police force. The grear mistake was made in placing the police on the defensive. They were foolishly barricaded in the jail and court-house, thus leaving the entire city to the mercy of the mob. Strange to sav, even when the troops were called out, they were rendezvoused around the same inclosure, and simply acted on the defensive. In this respect the ridiculous farce was repeated which characterized the railroad riots at Pittsburg a few years ago, when the military were left in the round-house, to have the mob pull it down over their heads. In 1863, during the terrible riots in Nfcw York, both the police and military were on the offensive nearly all the time. Why, one brave company of militia swept the entire mob from a single avenue. The New York riots of 1863* were not ordinary riots. They savored of revolution, and were, in fact, a rebel diversion in New York. The only way for troops is to sweep the streets with guns and canister, as Napoleon swept the streets of Paris. Above all -things discretion is what is wanted 1a case of a riot, and discipline on tye part of the police.”_V - I lt;
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Wed, Apr 02, 1884
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Joanne G.
NA, 18 Mar 2024
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