Not only this, nay vamper like
Do suck the Blood of men
And with the bones you take the hide
But, things get to an end.
That time I was quiet ignorant
of, who was my enemy real,
That I’ve become to you a torment
Is only the result you feel.
I’ll work for life and liberty,
For thiefs like you I wont
The courage that is left in me
Makes me a Rebell-Vagabond.
The most serious recent development of the spirit of revolt and disorder, however, is that shown in the attempt of the men Hronek and Capek to assassinate Judges Gary and Grinnell and Inspector Bonfield.
In July of 1888, Judge Grinnell sent for me and told me that he had been informed by a Bohemian citizen that there was a conspiracy afoot to murder himself, Gary and Bonfield, and that he thought there was something in the information. It appears that there were three Bohemian Anarchists, John Hronek, Frank Capek and Frank Chleboun, who had determined to avenge the “martyrdom,” as they called it, of the Anarchist leaders. Chleboun was never in real sympathy with the others, and when the affair began to grow very serious he went to a Bohemian friend and confided to him the plot. This gentleman at once advised Judge Grinnell. Among the details was the fact that three men had examined the Judge’s house on July 4th, with a view to blowing it up if a good opportunity offered, and the Judge remembered having seen three suspicious-looking men loitering about Aldine Square on that day. They had eyed him so strangely that his attention was attracted to them. This fact made him attach much weight to the story he had been told. The Judge wished me to conduct the investigation, but the suspects all lived in Inspector Bonfield’s district, and I urged that the inquiry should be made by him, of course promising to cooperate as heartily as I could. After this Bonfield, the Judge and I had a conference in which we went over the whole ground. We had all the facts in the case pretty well in hand. On the morning of July 17th, Bonfield was ready to strike, and the arrests were made. On the evening before warrants were sworn out for these three men, and at 4 A.M. Bonfield drove Lieut. Elliott past Hronek’s house, 2952 Farrell Street, so that he might know it. Officers Rowan, Miller, Nordrum, Murtha, Styx and Meichowsky assisted in the arrests.
In describing what followed Inspector Bonfield said:
“We had reason to believe that Hronek, who only occupied the two rear rooms of a two-story frame dwelling, had dynamite, a revolver and a formidable-looking dagger, which we had been told was poisoned. We had also been given to understand that Hronek was a reckless fellow of the Lingg type and would offer a desperate resistance, and for that reason, in order not to jeopardize the lives of any of our men, we thought it prudent, instead of entering the house, to catch him unawares when he came out early in the morning. At the side of the house is a covered stairway leading from the ground to Hronek’s rooms, and about seven o’clock we saw our man come down these, and he was immediately arrested by Officers Nordrum and one or two others. Leaving one or two men to watch the house, we took the prisoner, who appeared utterly indifferent, and astonished perhaps, to the nearest patrol-box, called the wagon, and sent him to Deering Street Station, whence he was removed to the Central Station later on.
“We then searched the house, and in a sort of closet we found a small quantity of dynamite in the original Ætna No. 2 packages. In the bed-room we found our information to be true, for under the pillow on which Hronek had a short time previous been sleeping we found a vicious-looking dagger, in a leather sheath, and a revolver. In addition to these we also found in the rooms several bombs, some of which are empty and some of which are loaded. The bombs are made of cast-iron piping, plugged at each end. The pipe had been made for some other purpose and turned to that use, and the bombs were four or five inches long and about an inch and a half in diameter.”
Frank Capek was arrested at his home, 498 West Twentieth Street, at the same time as was Frank Chleboun, who was found at Zion Place. Capek’s house was not searched, as it was known that he had made away with the dynamite that he had had there.
The arrests caused the greatest excitement in the city as soon as it became generally known what was the charge.