<P> In the Boston Police Strike, Boston police officers went on strike on September 9, 1919 . They sought recognition for their trade union and improvements in wages and working conditions . Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis denied that police officers had any right to form a union, much less one affiliated with a larger organization like the American Federation of Labor (AFL). Attempts at reconciliation between the Commissioner and the police officers, particularly on the part of Boston's Mayor Andrew James Peters, failed . </P> <P> During the strike, Boston experienced several nights of lawlessness . Several thousand members of the State Guard, supported by volunteers, restored order . Press reaction both locally and nationally described the strike as Bolshevik - inspired and directed at the destruction of civil society . The strikers were called "deserters" and "agents of Lenin ." </P>

Who took a firm stand in the boston police strike