“The balance of Spies’ speech is as follows (reading): ‘It was said that I inspired the attack on McCormick’s. That is a lie. The fight is going on. Now is the chance to strike for the existence of the oppressed classes. The oppressors want us to be content. They will kill us. The thought of liberty which inspired your sires to fight for their freedom ought to animate you to-day. The day is not far distant when we will resort to hanging these men. (Applause and cries of ‘Hang them now.’) McCormick is the man who created the row Monday, and he must be held responsible for the murder of our brothers. (Cries of ‘Hang him.’) Don’t make any threats, they are of no avail. Whenever you get ready to do something, do it, and don’t make any threats beforehand. There are in the city to-day between forty and fifty thousand men locked out because they refuse to obey the supreme will or dictation of a small number of men. The families of twenty-five or thirty thousand men are starving because their husbands and fathers are not men enough to withstand and resist the dictation of a few thieves on a grand scale, to put it out of the power of the few men to say whether they should work or not. You place your lives, your happiness, everything, out of the arbitrary power of a few rascals who have been raised in idleness and luxury upon the fruits of your labor. Will you stand that? (Cries of ‘No.’) The press say we are Bohemians, Poles, Russians, Germans—that there are no Americans among us. That is a lie. Every honest American is with us; those who are not are unworthy of their traditions and their forefathers.’
“Spies spoke fifteen or twenty minutes. What I have given here would not represent more than five or six minutes of actual talking.
“Parsons stated first that the remedy for the wrongs of the workingmen was in Socialism; otherwise they would soon become Chinamen. ‘It is time to raise a note of warning. There is nothing in the eight-hour movement to excite the capitalists. Do you know that the military are under arms, and a Gatling gun is ready to mow you down? Is this Germany, Russia or Spain? (A voice: ‘It looks like it.’) Whenever you make a demand for eight hours’ pay, an increase of pay, the militia and the deputy sheriffs and the Pinkerton men are called out, and you are shot and clubbed and murdered in the streets. I am not here for the purpose of inciting anybody, but to speak out, to tell the facts as they exist, even though it shall cost me my life before morning.’ Then he spoke about the Cincinnati demonstration, and about the rifle guard being needed. Then the report continues: ‘It behooves you, as you love your wives and children, if you don’t want to see them perish with hunger, killed, or cut down like dogs on the street, Americans, in the interest of your liberty and your independence, to arm, to arm yourselves. (Applause and cries of ‘We will do it, we are ready now.’) You are not.’ Then the rest of it is the wind-up. Besides what I have stated above he spoke for a long while about the fact that out of every dollar the workingman got fifteen cents, and the capitalists—the employers—got eighty-five cents. When he said, ‘To arms, to arms,’ he said that in his ordinary way of talking. I did not notice any difference in him when he said that.
“The first that I have written out of Fielden’s speech is: ‘There are premonitions of danger—all know it. The press say the Anarchists will sneak away; we are not going to. If we continue to be robbed it will not be long before we will be murdered. There is no security for the working classes under the present social system. A few individuals control the means of living and hold the workingmen in a vise. Everybody does not know that. Those who know it are tired of it, and know the others will get tired of it, too. They are determined to end it and will end it, and there is no power in the land that will prevent them. Congressman Foran says the laborer can get nothing from legislation. He also said that the laborers can get some relief from their present condition when the rich man knew it was unsafe for him to live in a community where there are dissatisfied workingmen, for they would solve the labor problem. I don’t know whether you are Democrats or Republicans, but whichever you are, you worship at the shrine of heaven. John Brown, Jefferson, Washington, Patrick Henry and Hopkins said to the people, “The law is your enemy.” We are rebels against it. The law is only framed for those that are your enslavers. (A voice: ‘That is true.’) Men in their blind rage attacked McCormick’s factory and were shot down by the law in cold blood, in the city of Chicago, in the protection of property. Those men were going to do some damage to a certain person’s interest who was a large property-owner; therefore the law came to his defense; and when McCormick undertook to do some injury to the interest of those who had no property, the law also came to his defense and not to the workingman’s defense, when he, McCormick, attacked him and his living. (Cries of ‘No.’) There is the difference. The law makes no distinctions. A million men hold all the property in this country. The law has no use for the other fifty-four millions. (A voice: ‘Right enough.’) You have nothing more to do with the law except to lay hands on it and throttle it until it makes its last kick. It turns your brothers out on the wayside, and has degraded them until they have lost the last vestige of humanity, and they are mere things and animals. Keep your eye upon it, throttle it, kill it, stab it, do everything you can to wound it—to impede its progress. Remember, before trusting them to do anything for yourself, prepare to do it yourself. Don’t turn over your business to anybody else. No man deserves anything unless he is man enough to make an effort to lift himself from oppression.’
“Then there was an interruption on account of some storm-clouds. Everybody started to go away. Mr. Parsons suggested that they adjourn over to Zepf’s Hall. Fielden said no, the people were trying to get information, and he would go on. And he went on: ‘Is it not a fact that we have no choice as to our existence, for we can’t dictate what our labor is worth? He that has to obey the will of another is a slave. Can we do anything except by the strong arm of resistance? The Socialists are not going to declare war, but I tell you war has been declared upon us; and I ask you to get hold of anything that will help to resist the onslaught of the enemy and the usurper. The skirmish lines have met. People have been shot. Men, women and children have not been spared by the capitalists and minions of private capital. It has no mercy—so ought you. You are called upon to defend yourselves, your lives, your future. What matters it whether you kill yourselves with work to get a little relief, or die on the battle-field resisting the enemy? What is the difference? Any animal, however loathsome, will resist when stepped upon. Are men less than snails or worms? I have some resistance in me; I know that you have, too. You have been robbed, and you will be starved into a worse condition.’
“That is all I have. At that time some one alongside of me asked if the police were coming. I was facing northeast, looked down the street, and saw a file of police about the middle of Randolph Street. At once I put my paper in my pocket and ran right over to the northwest corner of Randolph and Desplaines. Just when I reached the sidewalk, the front rank of the police got to the southwest corner of Randolph and Desplaines. I stood there until some of the police marched by, and the first thing I knew I heard an explosion; and the next thing there was a volley of fifteen or twenty or thirty shots, and I thought it was about time to leave, so I skinned down Randolph Street. While I was running I heard a great lot of shots, and somebody tumbled right in front of me, but I didn’t stop to see whether he was hurt. I didn’t see who shot first. As to the temper of the crowd, it was just an ordinary meeting.”
On cross-examination Mr. English said:
“It was a peaceable and quiet meeting for an out-door meeting. I didn’t see any turbulence. I was there all the time. I thought the speeches they made that night were a little milder than I had heard them make for years. They were all set speeches, about the same thing. I didn’t hear any of them say or advise that they were going to use force that night. Before I went to the meeting my instructions from the Tribune office were to take only the most incendiary part of the speeches. I think when Mr. Parsons spoke about the Cincinnati meeting he said he had been at Cincinnati and seen the procession. I heard the announcement to the crowd to disperse, distinctly. I did not hear Mr. Fielden say: ‘There come the bloodhounds now; you do your duty and I’ll do mine.’ I heard nothing of that import at all.”
M. M. Thompson testified:
“I am at present employed in the dry-goods business of Marshall Field & Co. Prior to the 4th of May last I was running a grocery store at 108 South Desplaines. I was at the Haymarket Square on the evening of May 4th. I walked west on Randolph Street about half past seven o’clock, and somebody handed me a circular headed ‘Revenge,’ and signed ‘Your Brothers.’ About twenty-five minutes to eight I got to the corner of Desplaines and Randolph. I met Mr. Brazleton of the Inter-Ocean. We talked about fifteen minutes. I asked the time. It was ten minutes of eight. Brazleton pointed out to me Mr. Schwab, who came rushing along Desplaines Street in a great hurry. I then went over to the east side of Desplaines Street. I walked up Desplaines Street near the corner of Lake, and came back again to the alley back of Crane Bros’. and stood just back of that alley. Then I saw Spies get up on the wagon and he asked for Parsons. Parsons didn’t respond. He then got down, and Schwab and Spies walked into that alley at Crane Bros’., near which the wagon was situated. The first word I heard between Schwab and Spies was ‘pistols;’ the next word was ‘police.’ I think I heard ‘police’ twice, or ‘pistols’ twice. I then walked just a little nearer the edge of the alley, and just then Spies said: ‘Do you think one is enough, or hadn’t we better go and get more?’ I could hear no answer to that. They then walked out of the alley and south on Desplaines Street, and west on the north side of Randolph to Halsted, and cut across the street and went over to the southwest corner; they were there about three minutes, came out of that crowd again and came back. On the way back, as they neared Union Street, I heard the word ‘police’ again. Just then I went past them, and Schwab said: ‘Now, if they come, we will give it to them.’ Spies replied he thought they were afraid to bother with them. They came on, and before they got up near the wagon they met a third party, and they bunched right together there, south of the alley, and appeared to get right in a huddle; and there was something passed between Spies and the third man—what it was I could not say. This here (indicating picture of Schnaubelt, heretofore identified) is, I think, the third man; I think his beard was a little longer than in this picture; this is the picture of the third man. I saw the third man on the wagon afterwards. Whatever it was that Spies gave him, he stuck it in his pocket on the right-hand side. Spies got up on the wagon, and I think that third man got up right after him. I noticed him afterwards sitting on the wagon, and that he kept his hands in his pockets. I stayed there until Mr. Fielden commenced to speak; then I left.