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
"I will now state a little incident which will throw light
upon this charge. On the evening on which the Prætorian
cohorts of the Citizens' Association, the Bankers'
Association, the Bar Association, and railroad princes
attacked the meeting of working men at the Haymarket with
murderous intent--on that evening about 8 o'clock, I met a
young man, Legner by name. My brother was with me at the same
time, and never left me on that evening until I jumped from
the wagon a few seconds before the explosion came. Legner
knew that I had not seen Schwab that evening. He knew that I
had no such conversation with anybody, as Marshall Field's
protege, Thompson has testified to. He knew that I did not
jump from the wagon and strike a match and hand it to the
man who threw the bomb. He is not a Socialist. Why didn't we
bring him on the stand? Because the honorable representatives
of the State, Grinnell and Bonfield, spirited him away.
These honorable gentlemen knew everything about Legner. They
knew that his testimony would prove the perjury of Thompson
and Gilmer beyond any reasonable doubt. Legner's name was
on the list of witnesses for the State. He was not called,
however, for obvious reasons. First, as he stated to a number
of friends, he had been offered $500 if he would leave the
city, and threatened with direful things if he should remain
here and appear as a witness for the defense. He replied
that he could neither be bought nor bulldozed to serve such
a foul, damnable, dastardly plot. But when we wanted Legner
he could not be found. Mr. Grinnell said--and Mr. Grinnell
is an honorable man--that he himself had been searching for
the young man, but had not been able to find him. About
three weeks later I learned that the very same young man had
been kidnapped and taken to Buffalo, N. Y., by two of the
illustrious guardians of the law, two Chicago detectives. Let
Mr. Grinnell, let the Citizens' Association, his employer,
let them answer for themselves, and let the people--let the
public--sit in judgment upon these would-be assassins. No, I
reply, the Prosecution has not established our legal guilt,
notwithstanding the purchased and perjured testimony of some,
and notwithstanding the originality of the proceedings of
the trial. And as long as this has not been done, and you
pronounce the sentence of the appointed vigilante committee
acting as a jury, I say that you, the alleged servant and high
priests of the law, are the real and only law-breakers, and
in this case you go to the extent of murder. It is well that
the people know this. And when I speak of the people I do not
mean the few conspirators of Grinnell, the noble patricians
who are murderers of those whom they please to oppress. Those
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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