ion
of politicians and newspapers representing the vicious and ignorant
element, civil service reform has made marvelous progress, and the
principle is now recognized not only in appointments to the vast majority
of non-elective offices under the National Government, but also in the
civil service of States and municipalities.

* * *

An unfortunate consequence of the vast growth of individual and corporate
wealth, after the war, was the widening of the division line between
capital and labor. The depression consequent upon the collapse of
inflated values in 1873 compelled employers to reduce expenses, and made
harder the lot of labor, while the workingman who saw his wages reduced
was not always willing to make intelligent allowance for the
circumstances which made the reduction necessary. The spirit of
discontent reached the point of eruption in 1877, when railway employees
throughout a large part of the Union abandoned their work, and indulged
in riot and disorder. The struggle raged most fiercely in the city of
Pittsburg, which was subjected for some days to the reign of a mob, and
to perils seldom surpassed save in the tragic scenes of old-world
barricades and revolution. The County of Allegheny had to settle for
damages to the amount of $2,772,349.53, of which $1,600,000 went to the
Pennsylvania Railroad. Chicago, Baltimore and Reading were also the
scenes of severe and sanguinary conflict between rioters and the militia.
It was estimated that about 100,000 workers were engaged in the strike in
various parts of the country.

Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and other States have witnessed serious
labor troubles since 1877, and the regular army of the United States was
employed by order of President Cleveland to put down unlawful
interference with interstate commerce in 1894; but the general tendency
of workingmen is to obtain redress for real or imaginary grievances in a
law-abiding manner by securing the election of officials favorable to
their interests. This is the only method of redress that can be tolerated
in a republic.

* * *

The great fires of Chicago in 1871, and of Boston in 1872, the Charleston
earthquake of 1886 and the Johnstown flood of 1889, were among the most
memorable of the destructive visitations which have served signally to
illustrate the energy, the generosity, and the recuperative power of the
America