Anarchy and Anarchists: A History of the Red Terror and the Social Revolution in America and Europe; Communism, Socialism, and Nihilism in Doctrine and in Deed; The Chicago Haymarket Conspiracy and the Detection and Trial of the ConspiratorsSchaack, Michael J.
History
Anarchy and Anarchists: A History of the Red Terror and the Social Revolution in America and Europe; Communism, Socialism, and Nihilism in Doctrine and in Deed; The Chicago Haymarket Conspiracy and the Detection and Trial of the Conspirators
OSCAR W. NEEBE was fortunate in the failure of the prosecution to show
his direct complicity in the Haymarket murder. There was no doubt as
to his active participation in all the plots of the Anarchist leaders,
and, had it not been for the loss of some important papers, he would
now be serving a life sentence instead of a fifteen years’ term in the
penitentiary. He took an active part in stirring up the members of the
Brewers’ Union after the McCormick riot, and he contributed no little
towards sending many of those members to the Haymarket meeting, ready
for violence and desperate deeds. Immediately following the Haymarket
slaughter, he was placed under arrest and taken to the Central Station
at the City Hall. He was there questioned in a general way, but the
near-sighted officials then in charge of that important department
were unable to see any reason for his detention and permitted him to
depart with his friend Schnaubelt, who had been gathered in about the
same time. This led him to believe that he had friends at the Central
Headquarters. His belief in his “influence” was somewhat shaken,
however, when I ordered a search of his house on the 8th of May. The
officers on that occasion found one Springfield rifle, one Colt’s
38-caliber revolver, one sword and belt of the Lehr und Wehr Verein,
a red flag, a transparency, a lot of circulars calling different
meetings, including the one calling for “revenge,” and several cards
of Anarchist groups, and with all these and other evidence of his
connection with the great conspiracy, I went before the grand jury
and had him indicted for conspiracy to murder. On the 27th of May,
about 6 o’clock, Deputy Sheriff Alexander Reed called at the Chicago
Avenue Station and asked me for assistance to arrest Neebe under the
indictment. I detailed Officer Whalen for this duty, and the two
called at the man’s house, No. 307 Sedgwick Street. The deputy sheriff
informed Neebe that he was under arrest, and the officer explained the
nature of the charge against him. They told him that they would be
obliged to take him to the County Jail.
Neebe smiled when notified of the charge, and remarked in a most
careless manner:
“Is that all? That’s nothing. I will get out on bail right away.”
But he did not; he had to linger for a long time.
Neebe was born in the State of New York, in 1850, of German parents,
and since his location in Chicago he had succeeded in establishing a
prosperous business in the sale of yeast to grocers and traders. He was
ambitious to distinguish himself in other directions, however, and he
chose Anarchy as a basis for building up a reputation as a leader among
men. He achieved considerable notoriety, as he was active, energetic
and pushing, and at the time of the Board of Trade demonstration he
acted as chief marshal of the procession.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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