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320 HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
This is the home for aged, indigent persons of Erie County, and is known
as the County Infirmary. This building was erected in the year 1886,
by George Phillip Feick, under a contract made with the commissioners
of the county. Mr. Feick was the lowest bidder for this work, his proposal
being $24,168. An engine house and smokestack were subsequently
erected by John IT. Smith, at an expense of $1,537.50.
The building that previously occupied this site was burned during
the latter part of November, 1885, and with its destruction five inmates
Avere burned to death.
The early proceedings for the establishing of a county infirmary
were had in the year 1855, and on the 29th of June of that year Walter
D. Beall, John W. Sprague and John G. Pool were appointed a board
of infirmary directors, who, with their successors in office, have ever since
had control of that arm of the cottnty government.
THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT
By W. H. Watts
Socialism in Erie County dates from the early '70s, when Philip
Burkle, now of the firm of Burkle & Lehrman, but then AA'orking at the
printer's trade, induced some of his German neighbors to subscribe for
the NeAV York Volkzeitung. As the result of their reading, Philip Burkle
and his father, August Burkle (noAV deceased), Jacob Schmidt, George
Schmidt (deceased), Nicholas Niessen, Adolph Figlestahler, August
Kuhmann (deceased), Joseph Loth (deceased), Barney Seitz (deceased),
Anton Holtzmiller, Christian Beigmann and D. M. Brodersen organized
a German section of the socialist labor party, Avhich flourished for several
years during the early '80s. These men are worthy of honorable mention
as having stood for a principle at a time when to be known as a
socialist Avas to be looked upon almost as a criminal or a lunatic. They
Avere soon joined by Charles Buddenhagen, Avho is still a staunch and
active supporter of the socialist organization.
During the early '80s there Avas also organized in Sandusky a Germanspeaking
and an English-speaking section of the Knights of Labor, which
was a socialistic organization, Avith socialists among its active members.
During a. strike of the coal miners in the Hocking Valley the German
section of the socialist labor party in Sandusky called a meeting at which
a dance was arranged to raise money for the strikers. The various labor
unions were invited to send delegates to this meeting, Avhich they did,
Avith the exception of the Knights of Labor, vvhose constitution forbade
their co-operating with other labor organizations. As a result of this
meeting the present Trades and Labor Assembly of Sandusky was
organized.
Both the Knights of Labor and the socialist labor party organizations
aftervA'ards lapsed, but when "Golden Rule" Jones, of Toledo,
was candidate for governor of Ohio in 1899, a number of socialists organized
the Golden Rule Club and supported Jones. The present socialist
party held its first national convention at Indianapolis in 1900, and it