The Chicago Martyrs by John P. Altgeld

I
152
ALTGELD'S REASONS FOR PARDONING
F~ELDEN,
NEEBE AND SCHWAB.
153
July, 1885, in the str\!et car strike on the west side, I held the office of lieutenant
o~ the force. I was detailed with a company of officers, early in the
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morning, in the vicinity of the car barns, I believe on Western avenue and a
little nqrth of Madison street. My orders were to see that the new men on
the cars were not molested when coming out of the barns.
One man came out and passed my lines about fifty feet. I saw one,of the
men, either driver or conductor, leave the car at a stand-still. Iran up near
the car, when I saw, on the southeast corner of the street, Bonfield 'strike a
man on the head with his club. He hit the man twice and I saw the man
fall to the ground.
Afterwards I was put on a train of cars, protecting the rear. Bonfiel'd had
charge of the front•. I saw many people getting clubbed in front of the train,
but I held my men in the rear and gave orders not to strike anyone except
they were struck first. Not one of my officers hurt a person on that day or at
~yti~ .
Many people were arrested, all appearing. From what I saw in the afternoon
and the next day,no officer could state what they were arrested for. The
officers professed ignc;>rance of havinglany evidence, but" spme one told them
to take him in," meaning to lock him up. On that afternoon, about 4 o'clock,
I met Bonfield and he addressed me in the following words, in great anger:
" If Bome of you goody-goody fellows had used your clubs freely in the forenoon,
you would not need to use lead"this afternoon." I told him that I did
not see any use in clubbing people, and that I would club no person to please
any on~, meaning Bonfield; and that if lead had to be used, I thought my
officers could give lead and take it also. I will say that affair was brutal and
uncalled for.
MICHAEL J. SCHAACK,
227 N. State street.
Again, it is shown that various attempts were made to bring to justice
the men who wore the uniform of the law while violating it, but ali to no
avail; that the laboring people found the prisons always open to receive them,
but the courts of justice were practically closed to them; that the prosecuting
offi~ers vied with each other in hunting them down, but were deaf to their
appeals; that in the spring of 1886 there were more labor disturbances in the
city, and particularly at the McCormick factory; that under the' leadership of