The Chicago Martyrs by John P. Altgeld

118
ADDRESS OF AJ,BERT R. PARSONS.
General Parsons-Yes, the 9th of October.
Mr. Parsons-Yes. It is concerning this workingmen's movement: "The
strong probability of Mr. George's election in New York has also a meaning
for the so-called capitalistic class of this community. A brief summary of the
inception and pro!!ress of the Anarchists' movement, wbich terminated at the
Haymarket on the 4tb of May last, will make this clear.
"Following-tbe great railroad strikes of 1877 came the failures of savings
banks; tbe unpunisbed defalcations of the trustees of the poor, and the enormous
immigration, increasing competition for work and bringing with it a
large element of the victims of Bismarck and of Bismarck's servility, soured
with life and ready for desperate deeds. Under such inauspicious circumstances
workingmen's parties were formed and tickets put in the field; some
were captured, others disorganized, some fell into the hands of the Socialists,
who found time to form a party whicb elected Frank Stauber to the city council
froni the fourteenth ward." I was a prominent actor, your honor, in all of
this matter tbat has heen related here in the News..
"Stauber was subsequently re-enforced by the election' of Alpeter in tbe
sixth ward l\nd another one in tbe fourteenth and Chris Mayer in tbe fifteenth,
while tbe Socialistic labor candidates for the fifth and seventh w.trds
were only defeated by a small majority. Alpeter and Stauber and bis colleagues
refused all overtures from the ring whicb tben as now controlled tbese
politics. They were proof alike against bribery and intimidation and the party
which they faithfully and honorably represented was becoming powerful and
troublesome as an opponent to the ring. At tbe city election following a flagrant
violation of the hallot box was perpetrated in the sixth ward by 'Cabbage'
Ryan, through whicb Alpeter was defrauded of a seat, and the offender
was ~he1tered from punishment, hie case being dismissed without a hearing in
some manner. This was followed the next year by the breaking open of the
box in the second precinct of the fourteenth ward and the fraud and perjury
by which Stanber was kept out of his seat for twenty-tbree months, fraud and
perjury which were condoned by the courts. It was upon the same day and
at the sawe election tbat Cnllerton succeeded by a suspicious majority of not
over twenty votes over a Socialist by the name of Bauman, and the cORncil
practically denied the contestant an opportunity to present his rights. One
of these frauds was perpetrated in the interest of the Republican party, the
other in the interest of the Democratic. The record needs no comment, but
it is no small wonder that the party was driven from the field, unable to cope
with the rascals of hoth tbe other parties."
Then he goes on to show that it was such things as this tbat brougbt
about- Anarchy and produced the Haymarket affair; brought that affair about
. -that is, he is assuming, your honor, that we, the men alleged, the men convicted
by the jury, aTe guilty of that tbing which we specifically now and ?ere
deny. But even if true, the editor of the News alleges, that there were extenuating
circumstances: that there was someone else connected with the moral
respollsibility, even though we were personally guilty of the offense. Now, on
the idea of extenuation," Mayor Harrison, about three weeks ago, was asked:
"How do you like the verdict in the Anarchist caFe?" "Well, I don't.care
to talk about it. We have punished these people who violated the law, and
ADDRESS OF ALBER'I' R.
PAWSON:;.
now it remains for us to cure the disease." What does this mean, your honor?
Why, that we are an effect; Mayor Harrison says we are an effect. Now it is
a funny doctor that would go to work to cure the effect of a disease. You
would never get rid of the disease, would you? You never would touch the
cause. The mayor of thfl city of Chicago says we are the effect. I submit
this here as an extenuating circumstance, and as a part of my plea for a new
trial. The mayor said: "There is it wide discontent among thil working people-there
is no doubt about that; it cannot be cured with bullets or policemen's
clubs. We have got to remove the cause. That is the task that is before
the thinking men, the law makers, today. There is no doubt but that the
working people have reason to be discontented all over the country. Legislation
in the interest of the big corporations and the monopolies is tQe fact, and
no law making for the laboring classes. That is what makes the laboring man
discontented. You must cbange all that, and legislators must be elected wbo
cannot be bought by the corpo;ations, or what will happen? The people will
rise up in mobs,. some day, and will have to be subdued with the bullet, and
that would be the end of flee government." Why, your honor, that is precisely
what I have said a hundred, and perhaps a thousand times. That is all
I have ever said-go and fetch Harri~on-bringhim here. He is as much
legally guilty on those words as I am this afternoon. I offer that as llhowing
that there are extenuating circumstances, even though we be guilty as charged,
which we deny. Mayor Harrison says thflre is "wide discontent among ·the
working people which cannot he cured with bullets and policemen's clubs."
Now, I want to ask this court if it thinks that that discontent can be cured by
hanging us? "
Take the governor of this State~GovernorOglesby. He made a speech
not long ago on monopoly. He said that we stood upon a social volcano. What
did he'mean? If he had 'made that remark at the Haymarket he would be in
this box here today, and turned over to the hangman. If he happened to be
at the Haymarket meeting and made that remark-if there had been a conjunction
of circumstances which would have hrought him to tbe Haymarket,
such would have been his fate.
None of the men were ever arrested before, not one of us; and I never
was arrested. I came to the court of my own accord. The other seven were
never arrested before, never were drunk, never were disorderly. Sober, steady,
industrious, intelligent, upright, honorable, decent workingmen; there is not
a spot, a blemish, nor a single stain against anyone of the eight.
Now as to this Gilmer and Burnett matter. I, as a man here on trial
wishing to know what your decision is to be witb reference to my having a
chance to prove my innocence, being convicted upon the testimony of a man
like Gilmer, offered the man Burnett as an offset to Gilmer. He was u,nimpeached.
No one questioned his veracity. He stood here as an honest man.
Gilmer did not. The State's attorney, in his eagernesB to produce this result
-and, by the way, right here I want to say, it is no particular credit for the
prosecution to bring about this verdict. All the rules of evidence and proce­
(ltue were reversed on this trial. Instead of being considered innocent until
(Illr 'uilt WIIS established, we have been held guilty unless we could' establish
IIUI" illllul" /I '0. Why, the whole capitalistic press, the whole of the police,
lUI