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
Three days were spent by the defense in arguing their claims for a new
trial, and on October 7th Judge Gary rendered his decision in the case
in the following language:
THE MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL OVERRULED.
Judge Gary said:
"In passing upon this motion for a new trial the case is so
voluminous, there is such a mass of evidence, that it is
impossible, within anything like reasonable limits, to give a
synopsis or epitome. I do not understand that either upon the
trial before the jury or upon the arguments of this motion
before me there have been any arguments tending or intended to
deny that all of the defendants, except Neebe, were parties to
whatever purpose or object there was in view--that the other
seven were combined for some purpose. I, of course, do not
wish to attribute to the defendants' counsel any admissions
which they have not made, but my impression is that there has
been no argument tending or intending to deny that all the
other seven, except Neebe, were engaged in the pursuit of some
object. What it is, the counsel have debated before the jury
and before me. Now, it is important to know what that object
was, whether it was as counsel for defense have stated--merely
to encourage working men to resist, if unlawful attacks were
made upon them--or whether it was something else. There is no
better way to ascertain what the object was, than to read what
they have spoken and written as the object, while the events
were transpiring. Now, from the files of their newspapers,
which go back a good way, a good deal can be taken, which
must of necessity be taken as the truth of what their object
was. I have not had time and opportunity to arrange either the
translations of the _Arbeiter Zeitung_ or the files of the
_Alarm_, and pick out those which in the fullest shape show
what they were proposing to do. These translations from the
_Arbeiter Zeitung_ now come to my hands for the first time. I
have here a translation of the _Arbeiter Zeitung_, January 11,
1885, headed 'To Arms'."
The Court proceeded to read numerous and lengthy extracts from
translations offered in evidence of articles in the _Arbeiter Zeitung_,
in which revolution by force was advised, and the approaching
revolution, it was declared, would be greater than that of the last
century. Among the extracts read were the following:
"Dynamite! Of all stuff, this is the stuff."
"The day draws near when the working people of America, in an outburst
of passion and ungovernable rage, will revolt and demand the total
abolition of the existing state of things which brings to the working
classes so much misery and death. Have you all prepared yourselves with
knives, pistols, guns and dynamite for the unavoidable conflict between
labor and capital?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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