On cross-examination, his testimony was as follows:
“I was the highest officer on the ground that night. The whole force was under my special charge and direction. As we marched down, the divisions of police occupied the full width of the street from curb to curb. Around the corner of Desplaines and Randolph there were a few persons scattered, apparently paying no attention to the meeting; the crowd attending the speaking was apparently north of that alley. The speakers’ wagon was not more than five or six feet north of that alley. Fielden, when speaking, was facing to the north and west, was facing us when my attention was especially called to him; there were about one thousand people there; don’t remember whether it was moonlight; there were no street lamps lit; there was a clear sky. As we marched along, the crowd shifted its position; the speaking went right on. My experience is, if the police were marching in parade, the crowd would get to the sidewalk to look on; if to disperse a crowd or mob, the natural thing would be for them to run away. I saw Fielden that night for the first time. As Capt. Ward turned to the wagon to give the order to disperse, I saw the men were still advancing, and I turned to the left, gave the command to halt, and then came up alongside of Capt. Ward. Capt. Ward stood within a few feet of the south end of that truck, which stood lengthwise of the sidewalk, the tongue end north. The front rank of the first division was near up to the north line of the alley, probably not more than ten or fifteen feet from the wagon. Before Capt. Ward had finished his command I was beside him. Capt. Ward spoke as loud as he could speak. Between my calling the halt and the explosion of the bomb, I don’t think it was a minute. As the Captain finished, Fielden stepped from the truck and faced us, and, stepping on the street, he turned to the sidewalk or curb, which is perhaps ten inches above the street, and said: ‘We are peaceable.’ Within two or three seconds the explosion followed. I did not hear anything said by Fielden from the truck. When he stepped on the street I could have reached out and touched him. He did not say: ‘This is a peaceable meeting.’ When I heard the hissing sound Fielden was in the act of getting to the sidewalk.”
Gottfried Waller, a former associate of the defendants, testified through an interpreter. He stated his occupation, residence, etc., and proceeded as follows:
“On the evening of the 3d of May I was at Greif’s Hall, 54 West Lake Street; got there at eight o’clock; went there pursuant to an advertisement in the Arbeiter-Zeitung: ‘Y—Come Monday night.’ Before that notice there is the word ‘Briefkasten,’ which means letter-box. This notice was a sign for a meeting of the armed section at Greif’s Hall. I had been there once before, pursuant to a similar notice. There was no other reason for my going there. I had seen no printed document before. I spent no time in the saloon at Greif’s place. I attended a meeting there in the basement which extends throughout the length of the building. The ceiling of basement is about seven or eight feet above the floor. I called the meeting to order at half-past eight. There were about seventy or eighty men. I was chairman. I don’t know of any precautions taken about who should come into the meeting. Of the defendants there were present Engel and Fischer—none of the other defendants.”
On a question as to what was said at that meeting after it had been called to order, objections were raised on behalf of six of the defendants other than Engel and Fischer, and overruled. Waller then resumed:
“First there was some talk about the six men who had been killed at McCormick’s. There were circulars there headed ‘Revenge,’ speaking about that; then Mr. Engel stated a resolution of a prior meeting as to what should be done, to the effect that if, on account of the eight-hour strike, there should be an encounter with the police, we should aid the men against them. He stated that the Northwest Side group had resolved that in such case we should gather at certain meeting-places, and the word ‘Ruhe’ published in the Letter-box of the Arbeiter-Zeitung should be the signal for us to meet. The Northwest Side group should then assemble in Wicker Park, armed. A committee should observe the movement in the city, and if a conflict should occur the committee should report, and we should first storm the police stations by throwing a bomb and should shoot down everything that came out, and whatever came in our way we should strike down. The police station on North Avenue was referred to first. Nothing was said about the second station—just as it happened. I then proposed a meeting of workingmen for Tuesday morning on Market Square. Then Fischer said that was a mouse trap; the meeting should be on the Haymarket and in the evening, because there would be more workingmen. Then it was resolved the meeting should be held at 8 P.M. at the Haymarket; it was stated that the purpose of the meeting was to cheer up the workingmen so they should be prepared, in case a conflict would happen. Fischer was commissioned to call the meeting through hand-bills; he went away to order them, but came back after half an hour and said the printing establishment was closed. It was said that we ourselves should not participate in the meeting on the Haymarket; only a committee should be present at the Haymarket and report in case something happened, as stated before. Nothing was said as to what should be done in case the police interfered with the Haymarket meeting. We discussed about why the police stations should be attacked. Several persons said, ‘We have seen how the capitalists and the police oppressed the workingmen, and we should commence to take the rights in our own hands; by attacking the stations we would prevent the police from coming to aid.’ The plan stated by Engel was adopted by us with the understanding that every group ought to act independently, according to the general plan. The persons present were from all the groups, from the West, South and North sides.”
A question being raised as to what was said about attacking the police in case they should attempt to disperse the Haymarket meeting, he replied:
“There was nothing said about the Haymarket. There was no one who expected that the police would get as far as the Haymarket; only, if strikers were attacked, we should strike down the police, however we best could, with bombs or whatever would be at our disposition. The committee which was to be sent to the Haymarket was to be composed of one or two from each group. They should observe the movement, not only on the Haymarket Square, but in the different parts of the city. If a conflict happened in the daytime they should cause the publication of the word ‘Ruhe.’ If at night, they should report to the members personally at their homes. On the 4th of May we did not understand ourselves why the word ‘Ruhe’ was published. It should be inserted in the paper only if a downright revolution had occurred. Fischer first mentioned the word ‘Ruhe.’ I only knew one of the members of the committee, Kraemer. Engel moved that the plan be adopted. The motion was seconded, and I put it to a vote.
“During the discussion was anything said about where dynamite or bombs or arms could be obtained, that you remember of?” “Not on that evening,” answered the witness. “I left the meeting about half-past ten. I went home. I was present at the Haymarket meeting on Tuesday evening for some time. I did not go there on account of the meeting, but because I had to go to Zepf’s Hall, to a meeting of the Furniture Workers’ Union. I saw the word ‘Ruhe’ in the Arbeiter-Zeitung about 6 P.M., on Tuesday, at Thalia Hall, a saloon on Milwaukee Avenue, where the second company of the Lehr und Wehr Verein and the Northwest Side group used to meet. I went to the Haymarket and stayed there about a quarter of an hour, while Mr. Spies spoke. Mr. Spies spoke English; I didn’t understand it, and I went to the meeting of the furniture workers. On my way to the Haymarket I had stopped at Engel’s. There were some people of the Northwest Side group there. Engel was not at home. Breitenfeld was not there. I was at Zepf’s Hall when the bomb exploded. There was some disturbance, and the door was closed. After the door was opened again we went home. I went alone. On my way home I stopped at Engel’s and told him what had happened at the Haymarket. They had assembled in the back part of their dwelling-place around a jovial glass of beer, and I told them that a bomb was thrown at the Haymarket, and that about a hundred people had been killed there, and they had better go home. Engel said yes, they should go home, and nothing else.”
“Mr. Waller,” asked the State, “did you ever have any bombs?”