“I know Spies by sight. I never had any conversation with him. I spoke to Mr. Neebe once a few words, at a meeting of the basket-makers. I have no acquaintance whatever with Schwab, Parsons, Fielden or Lingg. I saw Lingg once make a speech.”
Bernhard Schrade, another confidant of the Anarchists, stated that he had resided in this country nearly five years and had been a member of the Lehr und Wehr Verein. He was present at the meeting in the basement of Greif’s Hall, on the evening of May 3, and found the meeting in order when he got there. His testimony was as follows:
“Waller was presiding. There were about thirty or thirty-five people—Waller, Engel, Fischer, Thielen, the Lehmans, Donafeldt. Lingg was not there. When I entered, the chairman explained what had been spoken about until then. He stated the objects of the meeting; that so many men at the McCormick factory had been shot by the police; that a mass-meeting was to be held at Haymarket Square, and that we should be prepared, in case the police went beyond their bounds—attacked us. Afterwards we talked among ourselves, and the meeting adjourned. I heard nothing about assembling in other parts of the city. That same evening I had been to the carpenters’ meeting, and it was said there that the members of the L. u. W. V. should go around to the meeting on Lake Street. I stayed there from eight until half-past nine. Circulars headed ‘Revenge’ were distributed there by one Balthasar Rau. That carpenters’ meeting was held at Zepf’s Hall. At the meeting at 54 West Lake Street I stayed from half-past nine until about a quarter after ten. On the preceding Sunday I was at a meeting at the Bohemian Hall, on Emma Street. We got there about half-past nine in the forenoon. The big Krueger called for me. There were, besides me, Waller, Krueger, Fischer, Engel and Grueneberg. I don’t know the others.
“Those present belonged to the second company of the L. u. W. V., and the Northwestern group. We talked there about the condition of the workingmen after the 1st of May, and the remark was made that it might not go off so easy after the 1st of May, and if it should not, that they would help themselves and each other. It was said that if we were to get into a conflict with the police, we should mutually assist one another, and the members of the Northwestern group should meet at Wicker Park, in case it should get so far that the police would make an attack, and should defend themselves as much as possible, as well as any one could. Nothing was said about dynamite; the word ‘stuff’ was not used. Nothing was said about telegraph wires. The revolutionary movement was talked about; it was mentioned that the firemen could easily disperse large masses of the people standing upon the street, and in such a case it would be the best thing to cut through their hose, annihilate them. I was at the Haymarket on the night when the bomb was thrown. Went there with a man named Thielen. Got there about half-past eight. I walked up and down on Randolph Street, and at the corner of Desplaines I heard all the speakers. When the bomb was thrown I was at a saloon at 173 West Randolph Street. I had left the meeting because a rain and a shower came up. I know all the defendants. I saw Engel and Fischer, about an hour previous to the meeting, upon the corner of Desplaines and Randolph. After the bomb was thrown I went to my home, 581 Milwaukee Avenue. I met the little Krueger in the saloon. He was there; also the big Krueger. The L. u. W. V. used to meet at Thalia Hall, Milwaukee Avenue. We had our exercise, marched in the hall—drilled. We had Springfield rifles, which we kept at home.
“We had our military drills for pleasure. Most of the members had been soldiers in the old country, and we were drilling here for fun—pleasure. We drilled once a week, at times. The members knew each other, but on the list each one had his number. My number was 32. There were four companies of the L. u. W. V. in this city. I don’t know the number of members.
“I saw ‘Revenge’ circulars at the meeting at 54 West Lake Street. I know Schnaubelt by sight. Don’t remember whether he was at 54 West Lake. (Witness was shown the signal “Y,” in Arbeiter-Zeitung.) I saw this in the paper when I read it at Thalia Hall. It is a sign for the armed section to meet at 54 West Lake Street. The armed section means certain members of certain societies—trades-unions who had bought weapons with which they practiced continually.” (Witness is shown paper containing the word “Ruhe.”) “I never saw that before. Did not hear anything said about ‘Ruhe’ in the meeting at 54 West Lake Street.”
Schrade was shown a book of Most’s and stated that he had seen it sold at meetings of workingmen. On cross-examination he testified:
“I know Spies, Parsons, Fielden, Neebe and Schwab only by sight; never had any business or conversation with any of them. Lingg and I belonged to the same Carpenters’ Union, but we were not on terms of friendship. None of the defendants are members of the L. u. W. V., to my knowledge. I paid attention to all that was done while I was at the 54 West Lake Street meeting. I was at the Sunday meeting from half-past nine until half-past eleven. The discussion was, that if the police made an attack upon workingmen we would help the workingmen to resist it, and if the firemen helped, we would cut the hose. Nothing was said about dynamite or bombs at any of the meetings. Nothing was said about a meeting at any particular night to throw bombs. It was not agreed to throw bombs at the Haymarket meeting. While at the Haymarket I had no bomb; I don’t know dynamite. I knew of no one who was going to take a bomb to that meeting. When I left the Haymarket meeting everything was quiet; I did not anticipate any trouble. I had seen the signal ‘Y’ before. It was understood that the meetings were to be called by that kind of notice. I left the Haymarket meeting only on account of the approach of the storm. There were about two hundred people there when I left.”
Edward J. Steele, Lieutenant of Police at the West Chicago Avenue Station on May 4th, gave some details as to marching to the Haymarket, and stated that he had been in command of a company of twenty-eight men. He further testified:
“Two or three seconds after that—Captain Ward’s command to the meeting to disperse—the shell was thrown in the rear. It exploded on the left of my company. There was then also a smaller report in the rear of me, like a large pistol shot, and at that time the crowd in front of us and on the sidewalks fired into us immediately; by immediately I mean two or three seconds after. The crowd fired before the police did. Mine and Quinn’s were the front companies. My men had their arms in their pockets and their clubs in their belts; their hands by their side. I was six or eight feet from the speakers’ wagon when the command to halt was given. Prior to that I could hear speaking going on in front of us. I heard somebody say, ‘Here come the bloodhounds. You do your duty and we will do ours.’ I could not say who made the remark. The sound came from in front of us as we were marching. Ward spoke in a loud tone of voice to the speakers on the wagon when he commanded them to disperse. There were three or four men on the wagon. I saw Mr. Fielden there. I did not hear him make any response to Ward’s declaration. After the pistol shots from the crowd we returned the fire. Fielden stepped off the wagon, turned to the sidewalk, and I lost sight of him. When we got some few feet north of Randolph Street, the crowd in front of us separated to the right and left. I heard nothing said by the crowd. The bomb lit in the rear of the left of my company, and the right of Lieut. Quinn’s, between that and the next company behind us. When I heard the explosion I was facing north. The word ‘fire’ was not given by anybody, but we began firing when they fired on us. The explosion of the bomb affected about twenty-one of our men in the two companies, and the firing commenced at once.”