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
One officer, who proved of great assistance to me, was Charles Nordrum.
He became engaged in the case shortly after the Haymarket riot, and
after a time became a regular attaché of the detective department.
He was born in Norway on the 9th of November, 1858, and had lived in
Chicago since 1868. He joined the police force in November, 1884, and,
possessing a great deal of tact and shrewdness, his services were soon
enlisted in the work of hunting up the red conspirators. He worked at
times with Officer Schuettler, but reported to Ebersold. Both were
known to my officers, but they did not know of my private workers.
Nordrum was especially detailed to look after some meetings at Thalia
Hall, at the Emma Street Hall, in the rear room of Zepf’s saloon, in
the rear room of Greif’s saloon, at No. 600 Blue Island Avenue, and
at the Northwestern Hall, and he did not overlook meetings held in
the cellars of some of the more prominent Anarchists on the Northwest
Side and of others who were in sympathy with the Anarchists. He wormed
himself into the good graces of quite a number of the reds, and was
always kindly received by them. After a time the police stopped the
holding of meetings in some of the halls, and then the Anarchist
sympathizers harbored the reds in their cellars, furnishing candles for
illumination and nail-kegs for seats. On the 5th of July, 1887, Nordrum
was exposed at No. 599 Milwaukee Avenue, and he was at once surrounded
by an infuriated mob. The Anarchists with whom he had associated
attempted to kill him, but the officer, after a desperate fight,
succeeded in reaching the door before any serious violence had been
done him. This, of course, destroyed his further usefulness among them,
but out of his knowledge of the men and their affairs two arrests were
effected. He and Officer Schuettler brought in Emil Wende and Frederick
Kost, members of the Terra Cotta Union. These men had been selected to
buy each member of their group a 42-caliber revolver and one box of
cartridges, and the weapons so secured were to have been used on the
police on the day of the execution. The weapons had been purchased, and
as soon as the principals had been placed under arrest, a descent was
made upon the supply. All the revolvers were captured and brought to
the Central Station.
[Illustration: UNDERGROUND CONSPIRATORS.]
Noticing how successfully they had been circumvented in all their
movements, the Anarchists naturally came to the conclusion that
detectives were working in their ranks either in the interest of myself
or of Billy Pinkerton, and they resolved to discover, if possible, the
men so engaged. One day a very intelligent fellow called at my office
and wanted to know if I desired any more men to work for me among the
Anarchists. He stated that he was well acquainted with all the reds,
and, if I would pay him well, he would render good service.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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