Page:The Agitator Volume 2 Issue 01.djvu/3

 THE AGITATOR THE CHICAGO MARTYRS They stood before the people, To plead the people' s.cause; And boldly faced the fury Of man's inhuman laws. They told the wrongs of labor, The crimes of soulless wealth, The greed that crushed the toiler, And plundered him by stealth, They dared to speak of foulness, And not to call it good ; They scourged th* human vampires, That suck the people's blood. They showed the good time coming, When all men should be free, And hailed the glorious dawning Of human liberty. They stood before the people, And drew a freer breath Than that base judge and jury Who sentenced them to death. They neither paled nor faltered, To hear the words of doom ; But walked with martyr-courage From that polluted room. They stood before the people, To die as heroes die, And faced the frowning gibbet With proud and steady eye. Men heard no cry of weakness, And saw no craven tears ; Their minds were calm and joyful, Their hearts were free from fear. They stood before the people; Their words are with us still, While wrongs remain unrighted, And tyrants work their will. They bid us heed the message, And strike for liberty; And never cease our labor, Till all the world is free. James F. Moeton, J*. FROM THE SPEECHES Verbal Evidence of the Motive* ef Oar M*rtyred Comrades. I reply, the prosecution has not established our legal guilt, notwithstanding the purchased and per- jured testimony of some and notwithstanding the originality of the proceedings during the trial. And as long as this has not been done, and yott pro- nounce the sentence ot the appointed vigilance com- mittee acting as a jury, I say to you, the alleged servants and high priests of the law, are the real and only law breakers, and in this case you go to the extent of murder. It is w£ll that the people should know this. And when I speak of the p#opl* I do not mean the few ce^Hn^pirators o? Grinnell, the noble patricians who are murderers of those whom they please to oppress. Those citizens may constitute the State. They may control the State. They may have their Grinnells, Benflelds, and their hirelings. No, when I speak of the people, I mean the great mass of working beasts, who unfortu- nately are not yet conscious of the, rascalities that are perpetrated in the name of the people— in their name.— August Spies. • • • I am a Socialist, your Honor, I am one; one of those who, although myself a wage slave, holds that it is wrong, wrong to myself, wrong to my neigh- bor, and unjust to my fellow men for me to under- take to make my escape from wage slavery by be- coming a master and an owner of slaves myself. I refuse to do it. Had I chosen this path in life I would be upon an avenue of the city of Chicago to- day, surrounded in my beautiful home with luxury and ease and a happy family. But I chose the other road, and instead of that I stand here today upon the scaffold. This is my crime. Before high Heaven this and this alone is my crime.— Albert R. Parsons. I feel that I will be sentenced to death because I am an Anarchist, and not because I am a murderer. I have never been a murderer. I have never com- mitted a crime in my life; but I know a certain man who if? on the way to become a murderer, an assassin, and that man is Grinnell — State's Attor- ney Grinnell — because he brought men on the wit- nee* stand whom he knew would swear falsely; and I publicly denounce Mr. Grinnell as being a mur- derer and an assassin, if I should be executed. — Adolph Fischer. What are the crimes of which I am accused? What did I desire beyond the machines, and that the technical perfections of the age should be used in the interests of all the people? As truly as the air, and the water, and the fire are common prop- erty, so the inventions of scientific men should be the common property of all the people. — George Engel. Anarchy is called disorder! Anarchy is opposition against the order of things which does not allow a man to live a life that i3 worth living. I declare once more here openly with all my powers, with all my mind, I must combat such disorder and such a scoundrelly act. — Louis Lingg. Anarchy as defined by us is called an idle dream, but that dream was called by God a divine blessing. One of the three great German poets and a cele- brated German critic of the last century have also defined it. Anarchy is a dream, but only in the pres- ent. It will be realised, for reason will grow in spite of all obstacles. Who is the man that has the cheek to tell us that human development has al- ready reached its culminating point? I know our ideal will not be accomplished this year or next; but I know it will be accomplished as soon as pos- sible—some day in the future. — Michael Schwab. Today, as the beautiful autumn sun kisses with balmy light the cheek of every free man, I stand here never to bathe my head in its rays again. I have loved my fellow men as I have loved myself. I have hated trickery, dishonesty and injustice. The Nineteenth century commits the crime of kill- ing its best friend; it will repent of it. But as I have said before, if it will do any good I freely give my- self up. I trust the time will come when there will be a better understanding, more intelligence; and above the mountains of iniquity, wrong and cor- ruption, I hope the sum of righteousness, truth and justice will come to bathe in its balmy light an emancipated world. — Samuel Flelden. "LEADERS" AND LEADERS. Radicals are often asked, "How can human so- ciety exist without leaders, without a head?" If our questioner is one of the myriads who dwell lightly and superficially upon any subject, we could promptly dismiss him by answering that those who have no head of their own must necessarily bor- row one, no matter if that one be of a thick and dense variety, commonly called in popular parlarnce, blockhead. If, on the other hand, he is really well intentioned and prompted by an earnest spirit of investigation, we would readily concur with him by admitting that with leaders— true leaders— the world cannot very well dispense with. Amidst the rising tide of human misery, of ab- ject degradation, of sordid gain, of slavish submis- sion to whims of ruling power, someone must break the abominable fetters that custom, tradition and superstition have shaekled upon us; someone must lead in the work of social regeneration so that the true spirit of manhood, resurrected, can assume its fullest expression. Of such leaders we need scores of them. Multitudes are yet dominated by religious be- liefs, bigotry still befogs the human intellect, the somber recesses of many minds ar estill obscured •by fallacious teachings of dogma. Many knees are still bent in sacred genuflection before idols and images, the truth is yet crushed beneath the foun- dations of god's temples. Many champions have as- sailed this formidable citadel; it has partly crum- bled* 'tis true, but many more leaders are needed who will bear the torch of reason, the beacon of scientifiv investigation upon the realm now ob- scured by ignorance and superstition. Thousands are needed. The field of literature and art is teeming with opportunity for expression. Nature's greatest gift — the faculty to convey by pen, brush or chisel man's most noble impulses, his highest aspiration — that sacred beacon that uplifts man's hearts to lof- tier spheres is trammeled by dictums of conven- tionality and respectability. The "prowess" of crowned mummies and of tinseled "heroes" still pollutes our literature and defiles our art. Lord Mammon finds ready apolog!es. Commercialism reigns supreme. Artificiality and comstockism run rampant. Leaders are needed, myriads of them, who, disdaining to be mere automatons and mere intellectual prostitutes, will champion life's realism, without mockery, without sham. There is earnest demand for leaders who will rise above the common- place, above the prevailing decadence of form and of motive. Millions are needed. The cause of labor is seeking its leaders, its cham- pions. This promising field is open to all believers in its ultimate victory. Not "leaders" who wax fat upon the gullibility of the masses, not "leaders" who, subservient to their political ambitions, en- deavor to accomplish the most absurd and incon- grous alliances. Not "leaders" who prate about the community of interest betwteen c&pijtal and labor, who dine in lordly fasMon while the humble toiler contents himself with crumbs. No, not these "leaders." We scorn such leadership. Away with this species — the sooner, the better. We must have real leaders, plenty of them. Men of self-abnega- tion, wisdom, clear vision are needed; men who toil, suffer for the consummation of their ideals; fore- most in the struggle amidst derision and scorn of those who do not understand and prudently lurk behind. We welcome millions of these leaders with open arms. The true leaders always pursue their eourse through life without ostentation, without hope of re- ward. Their sole aim is to translate philosophical, conceptions into action. For no ideal can ever at- tain its highest manifestation unless life and experi- ment give it sanction — this is the true meaning of revolution. We welcome these fore-runners of the coming civilization as our leaders. Let it be under* stood: A true leader is he who preaches by exam- ple. 'Tis well that the world will never dispense with these leaders. R. DUMONT. ON TO KANSAS CITY! Oh, that I lived in ^Russia, Turkey, or some other place where the hollow mockery of liberty does not ex- ist. A country unencumbered with the brazen hypocriay' "free speech." Of all countries America is the greatest liar, the Dig- est hypocrite, the most prononuced fraud. We bawl about freedom and while bawling pull men off the soap box for telling the people the truth about the capitalist robbers who fleece them, and jail editors for printing these same truths. More than that. Men are being arrested in Kansas City for the "crime" of wearing an I. W. W. button. And still worse: men arrested have been denied a jury trial and fined $100. The I. W. W. is concentrating its forces in Kansas City and will fight the capitalist hirlings to a finish by flooding the city with men ready to go to jail for the right to speak to fellow slaves about their slavery. On to Kansas City ! J. F ANOTHER FREE SPEECH CASE The editor of this paper is under $1000 bail to appeal for trial in the Superior Court on the charge of ' 'publish- ing matter tending to create disrespect for the law. ' ' This is a clear case of trampling on the rights of free speech, and the libertarians of the country are invited to assist in the defence by subscribing to the defence fund. Nanthan Levin, Sec. Home, Lakebay,Wesh. Free Speech League. DEFENCE FUND Previously acknowledged, $86*85 C. T. Sprading, $4.00 Alfred Nettie, $2.00 HO FOR FRISCO! ThF Agitator Boosters of San Francisco have made arrangements for a Ball, to be held in Jefferson Square Hall, Saturday Nov. 25th. Let every friend of the paper turn out and make this a howling success, Talk abouti t; think about, it; get your friends to go. RECEIPTS Sprading, Raker, each $1; Heiman, Mikulich, Kim- all, each 50c. Heash, Ruley, Clark, each 25c. If it will be a balm to those Home anarchists, we are ready to adm'f that between bathing in the nude and wearing a i ?.:i;t' skirt we are inclined to believe the former more modest. — Tacoma News. A prison is a house »f care, A grave for men alive