“I have resided in Chicago for thirteen years. I was born June 20, 1848. On Sunday, May 2, I was in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Came back from there to Chicago on Tuesday morning, May 4th, between seven and eight o’clock. I caused a notice calling for a meeting of the American group at 107 Fifth Avenue, on the evening of May 4th, to be inserted in the Daily News of that evening. In the evening I left my house in company with Mrs. Holmes, my wife and two children, about eight o’clock. We walked from home until we got to Randolph and Halsted Streets. There I met two reporters that I have seen frequently at workingmen’s meetings. One of them was a reporter whose name I don’t know; the other was Mr. Heineman of the Tribune. There Mrs. Holmes, my wife and children and myself took a car and rode directly to the meeting at 107 Fifth Avenue. We arrived there about half-past eight and remained about half an hour. After the business for which the meeting had been called was about through, some one, I understood it was a committee, came over from the Haymarket and said that there was a large body of people and no speakers there except Mr. Spies, and myself and Mr. Fielden were urged to come over to address the mass-meeting. After finishing up the work, we adjourned and walked over. Fielden and myself crossed the river through the tunnel. There were three or four others present, but I don’t remember their names. I think it was after nine o’clock when I reached the meeting on Desplaines Street near the Haymarket. Mr. Spies was speaking. I managed to squeeze through the crowd, was assisted upon the wagon at once by some gentlemen standing about, and within a minute or two Mr. Spies concluded, stated that I had arrived and would address the meeting, and asked their attention while I was talking. I suppose I spoke about three-quarters of an hour. At the close of my speech I got down from the wagon. I think I was assisted by Henry Spies, who was standing by the wagon. Then I went to the wagon which stood about fifteen or twenty feet north of the speakers’ wagon, on which my wife and Mrs. Holmes were seated, listening to us. I got into that wagon, asked them how they were enjoying themselves, etc., and while talking with them, about ten minutes later, a coolness in the atmosphere attracted my attention. I looked up and observed white clouds rolling over from the north, and as I didn’t want the ladies to get wet, I went on to the speakers’ wagon and said: ‘Mr. Fielden, permit me to interrupt you a moment.’ ‘Certainly,’ he said. And I said: ‘Gentlemen, it appears as though it would rain. It is getting late. We might as well adjourn anyway, but if you desire to continue the meeting longer, we can adjourn to Zepf’s Hall, on the corner near by.’ Some one in the crowd said: ‘No, we can’t; it is occupied by a meeting of the furniture workers.’ With that I looked and saw the lights through the windows of the hall, and said nothing further. Mr. Fielden remarked that it did not matter; he had only a few words more to say. I went over again to where the ladies were, helped them off the wagon and told them to go down to this corner place, and we would all get together and go home. They walked off, and some one detained me for a moment; then I followed them and met near the edge of the crowd a man whom I knew very familiarly—Mr. Brown. I asked him to have a drink with me, as the speaking had made me hoarse, and we moved off a little in the rear of the ladies, to the saloon. There had been no appearance of the police, no explosion or any disturbance up to that time. As I entered the saloon I noticed some four or five gentlemen standing at the bar. There were possibly as many as ten people sitting at tables on the other side next the wall, and about five or six men standing in the center of the floor talking to each other, among whom I noticed Mr. Malkoff, talking to a gentleman whom I did not know, but I supposed he was a reporter. He was upon the witness-stand in this trial. I believe it was Mr. Allen. The ladies took seats about ten feet from the door, in the saloon, at the end of the first table, with their backs to it, looking into the street. I said something to them, and I believe just then I introduced some one to Mrs. Parsons. Afterwards I went to the bar with Brown, and we had a glass of beer and a cigar. Then I turned around and noticed Mr. Fischer sitting at one of the tables and said a few words to him and sat down at the table for a few moments. Then I think I went around to where the ladies were, and I was standing near them looking out and wondering if the meeting would not close, anxious to go home. All at once I saw an illumination. It lit up the whole street, followed instantly by a deafening roar, and almost simultaneously volleys of shots followed, every flash of which, it seemed to me, I could see. The best comparison I can make in my mind is that it was as though a hundred men held in their hands repeating revolvers and fired them as rapidly as possible until they were all gone. That was the first volley. Then there were occasional shots, and one or two bullets whistled near the door and struck the sign. I was transfixed. Mrs. Parsons did not move. In a moment two or three men rushed breathlessly in at the door. That broke the apparent charm that was on us by the occurrence in the street, and with that I called upon my wife and Mrs. Holmes to come with me to the rear of the saloon. We remained there, possibly, twenty minutes or so.”
On cross-examination Parsons said:
“I was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Since I came to Chicago I worked as a type-setter for the first eight or nine years; then for a year and a half myself and wife had a suit business on Larrabee street; then for about a year and a half myself and wife made ladies’ wrappers and suits, and I went out soliciting orders. For the last two years, since October, 1884, I was editor of the Alarm. It was a weekly paper for about a year, and then a semi-monthly. I wrote down the memorandum of my utterances on the night of May 4th, which I used in giving my testimony as to my speech, from time to time, as they occurred to me, and in looking over Mr. English’s report. When I referred to the methods which the Chicago Times and the Chicago Tribune and Tom Scott advised against striking workingmen, I told them they should defend themselves against such things in any way they could, by arming, if necessary. I did not mention dynamite at that meeting. I possibly mentioned it at other meetings. I said nothing about bombs that night, neither as a defensive means, or something to use against them. I did not, when I said that the present social system must be changed in the interest of humanity, explain to them how the social change should be brought about, because I did not know myself. I think I told the audience that the existing order of things was founded upon and maintained by force, and that the actions of the monopolists and corporations would drive the people into the use of force before they could obtain redress. I might have stated that—I am not sure. I did not tell them that the ballot was useless for them because the majority was against them. That is not correct; the workingmen are vastly in the majority. I did not tell them that night that the only way they could obtain their rights was by overturning the existing order of things by force. I could not tell whether there were any strikers present that night. There were very few Socialists present. I am a Socialist. I am an Anarchist, as I understand it.”
W. A. S. Graham, a reporter with no Anarchistic tendencies, had interviewed Harry Gilmer at the City Hall as to what he had seen at the Haymarket and who threw the bomb.
Harry Gilmer was then recalled by the defendants and stated that he had seen the gentleman (pointing to Graham) at the Central Station, and that he (Graham) asked him if he could identify the man who threw the bomb. Gilmer had answered that he could if he saw him. Witness did not say during the conversation that he saw the man throw the bomb, but that the man had his back to him and had whiskers. Witness did not say that the man was of medium size with dark clothes, and that he saw him light the fuse and throw the bomb.
Mr. Graham was recalled and stated that the man (Gilmer) just on the stand had told him that he saw the man light the fuse and throw the bomb, and that he could identify him if he saw him. Gilmer told him that the man was of medium height, and thought he had whiskers and wore a soft black hat, but had his back turned toward him. On cross-examination witness said:
“I had this conversation about four o’clock in the afternoon of May 5th. I talked with him about three or four minutes. He said nothing about there being more than one man at that location, a knot of men, or anything of that kind. He said that one man lighted the fuse and threw the bomb; he did not say anything about how it was lighted, whether with a match or a cigar, I did not ask him that. He said he was standing in Crane’s alley when it was done.
This closed the evidence for the defense, and by agreement several newspaper articles and an address of Victor Hugo to the “Rich and Poor” were introduced. The State then proceeded to put in rebutting testimony.
Daniel Scully, a justice of the peace, was first examined. He stated that at the preliminary examination, held on the 25th of May, Officer Wessler had not stated in his testimony that Stenner was the man who fired the shot from the wagon; neither had Officer Foley so stated.
“Did he, at that time, give a description of the man who fired the shot over the wagon that night as a stout man with heavy whiskers, saying at the same time that if he ever saw him again he thought he could identify him?” “Yes, sir. Stenner was discharged upon that examination.”