The Chicago Martyrs by John P. Altgeld

100
ADDRESS OF ALBERT R.
PARSONS.
ADDRESS OF ALBERT R. PARSONS.
101
not tall in height, exactly corresponds with Burnett's description of the man
he saw, both light and hurl the bomb, and Burnett stood here. You remember
it; Burnett was standing right abOut here when he testified; he said that
he was standing by the side of the man and saw the man light the bomb, and
hurl it in that direction. It tallies with the man sW9rn to here by John Philip
DeLuce, the man called for by the New York Times, Herald and T1'ibtme, by
implication at least, that this thing must be stopped. Pinkerton comes out
in a circular and offers to do this kind of work. It is the hand of the police.
Now, is it anything beyond human reason that tbese·men could not carry out
that which they said they were ready to do-to do that which they themselves
claimed it would be worth to them millions to do? I am not putting statements
in their mouths. They stated here that they were ready to do such
work; perhaps they may have overdone the work; perhaps they killed more
men than they intended to kill; perhaps that may be true. Perhaps they did
not intend that it should be so great a sacrifice as it was; but I will continue
with reference to this; Burnett's pescription of the identical man he saw
both light and hurl the bomb thirty, five feet south of the alley, show that the
prediction of the stranger from Chicago, "You will hear from it," was veri.
fied within twenty-four hours, because it was not a dynamite, but an infernal
bomb, of ,,"hich this stranger boasted in his cups when pointing to the satchel
and sayi~g, "I have something in here that will work; you will hear of It;
you will shortly hear of trouble in Chicago," speaking of the pending troubles
in this city.
Within twenty-four hours after this incident at Indianapolis, as sworn to
before this court, the something in that satchel was heard from, and its detonation
is still ringing in the ears of a startled world. The day following, the
5th of May, the Daily News of Chicago published the first description in
print of the man who threw the bomb, from one who swore he was neither' a
Socialist, an Anarchist, nor a COplmunist, but a mere idle and curious specta.
tor at the meeting. The News said on May 5: ,. The police have a good
description of the man who threw the bomb at the Anarchists' meeting lsst
night. The fellow stood in front of John Burnett, a candy maker in the employ
of Mr. Berry, at the corner of Washington and Sangamon streets, and
was seen by him to throw the missile of death. The atrocious murderer was
a young man, a little above medium height, and well dressed. He was seen
to take the bomb frum his pocket and light it just as the police drew near.
Burnett said he stood within two feet of the man, and would certainly be able
to i'dentify him SHould he meet hi1TI again. Hardly a moment elapsed after
the bomb was light(d nntil tbe man lifted his arm preparatory to casting it
from him. Every detail of this performance was witnessed by Burnett, who
did not know what to make of this strange action. Presently the fuse attached
to the bomb commenced to burn, and then, for the first time, Burnett r.ealized
what was about to happen. The man, with a quick jerk of his arm, sent the
bomb flying through the air, and the next instant turned to run. Burnett
attempted to follow, but a stray buUet struck him in the arm and he fell to
the sidewalk. When he got up all was confusion. The foregoing is the suh.
stance of the story told the reporter this morning. Detectives were sent out
to hunt for Burnett, but they were nnable to find him."
Your honor, this was the fifth day of May, the day following the Haymarket
affair. Mr. Burnett was found and repeated the above facts to the
district attorney. reaffirming the statement to which he subsequently swore
n court for the defense, that the strange 'man stood t.hirty-five feet south of
the alley; that he saw him light the fuse and then throw tbe bomb; that he
'Wore dark clothes; and it was proven on trial that Rudolph Schnaubelt, the
man Giimer implicated, wore light· clothes that night, and tbis Pinkerton
man had a mustache and no chin or side whiskers, while Schnaubelt, the
Anarchiet, had hoth; and he was a man of medium size, whereas Schnaubelt
is noted for his great height; be is six feet two inches. The district attorney
had to stultify his own witnesses by tbe unsupported, manufactured, perjured
evidence of Gilmer, because for forty piecps of silver, he was willing to swear
that Spies lit the fuse while another man threw the bomb-a very tall man in
height, in light clothes, with a light or sandy beard. Gilmer swore that when
Fielden was speaking he was looking for a party be expected to find there,
"and I went back in the alley between the Crane building ~nd tbe building
on the south of it. I stopped in the alley and noticed some parties in conversation
across the alley on the soutb side. Some one said: 'Here come the
police.' There was a man who jumped from the wagon down to the parties
somewhere standing on the south side of the alley, and lit a match and touched
off something or other, and the man gave a couple of steps forward and
tossed it over into the street."· Side by side with this, ,,"e ~ive the preci~e
words of Mr. Bonfield, as published in the Cbicago Times of May 5, to a knot·
of reporters gathered around him at the station house half an hour after the
tragedy occurred. He is reported in the Times of May 5 to have said: "The
exact scene of ihe explosion is near the centerof the street and exactly opposite
the alley on the east side which separates No.9 South Desplaines street
from Crane Brothers' foundry. At intervals between this alley and Randolph
street there are large, heavy, box-like frames at the edge of the sidewalk, and
it is here that the bomb was thrown." Lieutenant Haas located the spot
there also as some fifteen feet south of the alley, not in the alley, as Gilmer
would have it. Yes, the prediction of the Indianapolis stranger was verified.
The bomb was heard from, and heard around the world. The purpose avowed
in the New York city papers to pick out the leaders and make such examples
of them as to scare the others into submission, was put into successful execution,
and well was the diabolical and nefarious plot executed. Eight men­
" leaders "-tbree labor editor~ and five labor organizers and orators-now
II fore you, are here to receive sentence of death in pursuance of that vile plot,
01 which the Haymarket tragedy, in the hands of a Pinkerton detective, was
til ntering wedge; and Gilmer's testimony is but a part of a scheme to
tHvMt .\ttention from the evidence of twelve witnesses, exclusive of Bonfield's,
to til 'I"i'lll(',~ reporter, that the infernal machine was hurled from fifteen to
Uill'fy·/lvu f elL south of the alley, just where the short man in dark clothes
I\lltlllllly Mtoo(l wh(lIl the angel of death was sped on its infernal mission, not
mil to Muc"llkll JlIII'JlllHOly the lives of the policemen on the ground, but that
11111 I, hOI' I, "d,,,'/\ IlIil(hl, ho arrested and doomed to death under a charge of
till ,'011111. lOll.,! 1111 om'"f1', in order, as avowed by the New YOlk Times,
1111 'I 1ol1111 I. IIlId ",,,,,,, 41111,,\1 lI'u of thtl fallil1R stock markets of the east, to scare