“I had this conversation with Spies in the Arbeiter-Zeitung at his own desk, on the left-hand side as you entered the door in the editorial room. Mr. Schwab was there once or twice when I was in. I was not acquainted with him personally. The conversations which I have chiefly detailed here took place in the Chicago Oyster House and in a little room detached from the counting-room down-stairs where he kept those specimen bombs. He got this bomb from one of those little pigeonholes in that room.
“He particularly mentioned the Market Square, and that it would take a very few men to fortify that street against all the police and militia in Chicago, and that they would have the tunnel at their back for a convenient place of retreat for those who were not engaged in throwing the shells, or for women and children whom they might care to take there. They were to receive the police or militia with their line formed in the shape of a letter V, the open end of the letter V facing toward the street intersection. Then there were to be others to reinforce them, as it were, on the tops of houses, at those corners. The plan here in this copy of the Daily News of January 14th, I drew from one that he made right on the table cloth as we sat at dinner together, except that he did not put in these little squares, but explained to me where these would be, and laid toothpicks to make these lines. Those dotted lines and the other dotted lines are to represent the dynamiters on tops of houses.”
On cross-examination Mr. Wilkinson testified:
“I got leave of Mr. Spies to carry the bomb off and show it to Mr. Stone. I am now twenty-six years old. Have been in the newspaper business about four years. I came to Chicago in September of last year. I was assigned to this work with Mr. Spies by Mr. Stone personally. I advised Mr. Spies of that fact. The circulation of the Daily News, according to its official statistics, was about 165,000. After that conversation in the presence of Joe Gruenhut, I had also an interview with Gruenhut. Mr. Gruenhut said that the conflict to which our conversation referred at the table would occur probably on the 1st of May, or within a few days thereafter, and that it might extend all over the country. He spoke of the conflict between the workingmen who were to strike for eight hours and their natural enemies, the police and militia. I don’t remember that anything was said about the capitalists. The Haymarket was not mentioned.
“I did not take any notes while the conversation with Mr. Spies was going on. I wrote them up the first opportunity I afterwards had. Spies said, as near as I could calculate, that they had about 9,000 bombs. As to those tall men who could throw a five-pound bomb fifty paces, my recollection is that it was a company referred to, without number. There were four or five only of that company, as I understood, who could throw a five-pound bomb—that is a large-sized shell—and fifty yards is a long distance to throw a shell. He described the character of the organizations; that if there were three the first would know the second and the second the third, but not the third the first; that it was Nihilistic in its character, and that they were known by other means than names. I don’t think I asked Spies about how many men were interested in this project that were drilling and getting ready. I don’t recollect his saying anything about that, but I concluded that there were as many men as there were bombs, or more. There was some delay of about three or four days in the publication of my article after it was prepared.
“I did not believe all Spies said. I believed about half of it. The article written by me is wound up by the suggestion that when dressed to cold facts it was like a scarecrow flapping in the corn-field. I did not write that. That was edited by some one who told me he didn’t believe as much of the matter as I did. I remember a communication from Mr. Spies in the Daily News, after this article. I think I helped ‘fix it up,’ put a head-line on it. The original was then used as copy. I never saw it afterwards. Joe Gruenhut is a Socialist.”
Gustav Lehman gave his testimony as follows:
“I am a carpenter. On May 4th I lived at 41 Freeman Street. I lived there six months. Have been in this country and in this city four years. I was born in Prussia. I attended a meeting at 54 West Lake Street on the evening of May 3d. Got there a quarter of nine. I went there from my home by myself. I was about to go to a carpenters’ meeting at Zepf’s Hall, but I met several persons who were going to 54 West Lake Street. I saw a copy of the Arbeiter-Zeitung containing the notice ‘Y—Komme Montag Abend.’ It meant that the armed ones should attend the meeting at 54 West Lake Street. When I got there the meeting was in session. Somebody made a motion to post somebody at the door, and then I went out to the sidewalk, by the door, that no one who was going to the water-closet could remain there and listen. I was stationed on the sidewalk, where the steps were leading down, maybe a good half hour. I went into the meeting twice. I heard that large man, with the blonde mustache, say he was going to have hand-bills printed and distributed. There were present at the meeting Seliger, Thielen, myself, my brother, Fischer, Breitenfeld and the Hermanns. That is about all I remember. I don’t know how Engel looks.
