The Chicago Martyrs by John P. Altgeld

78
ADDRESS OF ALBERT R. PARSONS.
the circular. Then, after referring to the Eervice~ rendered the capitalists,
corporations, and monopolists during the strikes in all parts of the coun~ry
during the past year, the circular closes with the. following paragraph~, which
we give in full as illustrative of the designs of these secret enemies upon
organized labor. Let every workingman ponder over t~e avowed.purposes of
these armies of thugs. It says: "The Pinkerton Protective Patrol IS connected
with Pinkerton's National Detective :Agency, a.nd is under the same m.anagement.
Corporations or individuals desirous of ascertaining the. f~e~Ings of
their employees, whether they are likely to engage in strikes.or are !Olnlng any
secret labor organizations, such as the Knights of Lab~r, With a vle.w o~ compelling
terms from corporations or employers, can obtam upon apphcatlO~ to
the superintendent of either of the offices a detective suitable to as~oclate
with their employees and obtain this information." This circular contInues:
" At this time, when there is so much dissatisfaction among th~ labor classes,
and secret labor societies are organizing throughout the United St~tes, we
suggest whether it would not be well for railroad companies and other corporations,
as well as individuals who are extensive employers,. to ke~p a close
watch for designing men among their own employees,. ,:ho, m the mt.ere~t of
secret labor societies,are influencing their employees to Jom these orgaDlza~lOnlland
eventually cause a strike. It is frequently the case that, by takm.g a
matter of this kind in time, and discovering the ring-leaders, and dealmg
promptly with them"-"discovering the ringleaders,': ma:k you, "and
dealing promptly with them, serious trouble may be aVOl,ded In the futurll.
Yours respectfully, William A. Pinkerton, General SuperI~tendent .Western
Agency, Chicago; Robert A. Pinkerton, General Supermtendent Eastern
Division, New York." . ..
Now here IS a concern' an institution which organizes a private army.
This pri;ate army is at the' command·and control of those who grind the ~aces
f the poor who keep wages down to the starvation point. This pnvate
~rmy can be'shipped to the place where they are wanted•.N?w it g,oes to the
Hocking Valley to subjugate the starving miners; then It IS. carned ac~o~s
the plains to Nebraska to shoot the striking miners in that :eglOn. Then It IS
carried to the east to stop the strike of the factory operatives and p~t them
, down. The army moves about to and fro all over the c~u~try,sneaks mto t~e
labor organizations worms itself into these labor SOCIeties, finds out, as It.
s~ys, who the rin~-leadersare and deals promptly with them. "Pr0';Ilptly,"
your hon0 r, "wI'th them" ., Now what does that mean? ... It means this: . that
some workingman who has got the spirit of a man m hiS organ~zatlOn, w~o
gets up and speaks out his sentiments, protests, you, know, objects, w?n t
h ve it don't like these indignities and says so, IS set down as a rmgle:der,
~nd these spies go to work and put up ,a job on him. If. they cannot
aggravate him and make him,as the New York Tj'ibune says, VIOlate the ~aw
so they can get hold of him, they go to work and put up a schem~ on him,
and concoct a conspiracy that will bring him into court. When he IS broug~t
into court he is a wage slave; he has no friends, he has .got no ~oney-w:h,oIS
he? Why, he stands here-at the bar like a culprit. He has neither poslt~on,
wealth, honor, nor friends to defend him. Wha.t ,is the result? ,W~y, ~Ixty
days at the Bridewell or a year in the COUIIty ],811. The matter IS dismissed
ADDRESS OF ALBERT R. PARSONS.
with a wave of the hand. The bailiff carries the rivg'leader out. The strike
is suppressed. Monopoly triumphs and the Pinkertons have performed the
work for -which they receive their pay. Now, it was these things that caused
the American Group to take an exceeding interest in this manner of treat-·
went on the part of the corporations and monopolies of the country, and we
became indignant about it. We expostulated, we denounced it; Could we
do otherwise? We are a part and parcel of the miseries brought about by this
condition of things. Could we do otherwise than expostulate and objeet to it
and resent it? Now, to illustrate what we did, I will read to you from the
.Alarm, December 12,1885, the proceedings of the American Group, of which I
was a member, as a sample. I being present at that meeting, and that meeting
being reported in this paper, I hold that this report of the meeting, being put
into the Alarm at that time, is worthy of your credence and respect, as showing
what our attitude was upon the question of force and of arms and of dynamite.
The article is headed" Street Riot DrilL Mass Meeting of Working
People Held at 106 East Randolph Street." This was the regular hall and
place of meeting. The article reads: "A large mass meeting of workingmen
and women was held by the American Group of the International last Wednesday
evening at their hall, 106 East Randolph street. The subject under discnssion
was the Rtreet-riot drill of the First Regiment on Thanksgiving day.
William HolmeR presided. The principal speaker of the evening was .Mrs.
Lucy E. Parsons. She began by saying that the fonnders of this republic,
whose motto was that every human being was by nature entitled to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness, would turn in their graves if they could
read and know that a great street-riot drill was now being practiced in times
of peace. 'Let us,' said she, 'examine into this matter and ascertain, if we
Can, what this street-riot drill of the military is for. Certainly not for the
purpose of fighting enemies from without; not for a foreign foe, for if this
was the case we would be massing our armies on the sea'coast. Then it must
be for our enemies within. Now, then, do a contented, prosperous, and bappy
people leave their avocations and go out upon the streets to riot? Do young
men and maidens who are marrying and given in marriage forsake the peaceful
paths of life to become a riotous mob? Then who is this street-riot drill
for? For whom is it intended? Who is to be shot? When the tramp of the
military is heard, and grape and canister are sweeping four streets at a time, as
Is contemplated by this new-fangled drill which was so graphically described
in the capitalistic paper which gave an account of it, it is certainly not for the
purpose of shooting down the bourgeoisie, the wealthy, because this same press
makes a stirring appeal to them to contribute liberally to a military fund to
put them on a good footing and make the militia twice as strong as it is at
present, because their services would soon be needed to shoot down the mob.'
Tbe speaker then read an extract from a capitalistic account of the street-riot
drill on Thanksgiving day."
our honol', this meeting was held the week following Thanksgiving day,
nd th drill took place on Thanksgiving day. This article, 'which is a
ilurlpLion of the drill copied from a r.apitalistic paper, reads as follows: "As·
(J llo1llslon the