The Rise and Fall of Anarchy in America: From its Incipient Stage to the First Bomb Thrown in ChicagoMcLean, George N.
History
The Rise and Fall of Anarchy in America: From its Incipient Stage to the First Bomb Thrown in Chicago
McLean, George N.
Anarchists -- United States; Haymarket Square Riot, Chicago, Ill., 1886
Mr. Walker then read a passage from Most's "Revolutionary Warfare"
telling how prussic acid can be applied to grooved daggers, making them
the more deadly. "This is the test: Was the bomb thrown in furtherance
of the common design? If it was it makes no difference whether it
was thrown by one of these conspirators here or not. Nobody had been
advocating the use of dynamite but Socialists. Was there anybody who
would throw a bomb except a Socialist? We have proved that Lingg made
the bomb in furtherance of the common design. 'You have done this,
Louis Lingg,' said Huebner, and Lingg went away and complained that he
was blamed for doing the good work."
Mr. Walker reiterated that every one of the 3,000 men said by Spies to
have participated in the conspiracy were equally guilty of the murder
of Officer Degan. All the members of the Lehr und Wehr Verein were
included in this charge. He pointed out the fact that nearly all of the
witnesses for the defense are members of Anarchist bodies; that their
sympathies are with the prisoners, and that it has been abundantly
shown by their cross-examination that they would not hesitate to
pervert the truth in order to shield their confederates from the
consequences of their acts.
MR. ZEISLER FOR THE DEFENSE.
Mr. Zeisler, of the counsel for the defense, set to work at once to
tear Mr. Walker's address to pieces. He accused the assistant State's
Attorney of distorting the facts in the case, and attempting to bring
about a conviction by working on the prejudices and suspicions of
the jury. Mr. Walker impugned the motives and the characters of the
defenses' witnesses. Mr. Zeisler continued:
"Who are their principal witnesses? The policemen who were at the
Haymarket. And before we get through we will show that these men were
not heroes, but knaves, led on by the most cowardly knave who ever held
a public position. It has been proved that most of these policemen
who went on the stand had been at one time or another members of the
detective force, and the Supreme Court tells us that a detective is a
liar!"
The speaker went on to attack the other State witnesses. Detectives
are taken from the criminal classes. Harry L. Gilmer, he said, is a
constitutional liar, and the only witness who has been impeached.
Some of the reporters, he acknowledges, tell the truth, and on their
statements the defense will partially rely to show the innocence of the
prisoners.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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