The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1886-11-02
The Law and the Anarchists.

The Chicago Anarchists, convict
ed of the murder of the policemen
at the Haymarket meeting in May,
and condemned to be hanged, have
been notified that they will COM
mence their journey to that bourne
whence no traveller returns, on De
cember 3. After the close of Par
sons address Judge Gary spoke as
follows:
Il am sorry beyond any power of
expression for your unhappy condi-
tion, and for the terrible events that
have brought it about, l shall ad-
dresss to you neither reproach nor
exhortation. What siall, shall be
in the faint hope that a few words
from place where the people of the
State of Illinois have delegated the
authority to declare the penalty of
violotion Of their laws, and spoken
upon an occasion so solemn and aw-
full as this, may come to the knowl-
edge Of and be needed by the igno-
rant, deluded and misguided men
who have listened to your counsels
and followed your advice. 1t is not
the least among the hardships of
the peaceable, frugal and laborious
poor to endure the tyranny of mobs,
who with lawless force dictate to
them under penalty of limb and life
where, when and upon what terms
they may earn a livelihood foc them
selves and families. Any Govern
ment that is worthy the name will
strenuously endeavor to secure to all
within its jurisdiction freedom to fol-
low the lawful vocations. and safety
for their property and their persons,
while obeying the law, and the law
is common sense, it holds each man
responsible for the natural and prob
able consequences of his own acts.
1t holds whoever advises murder is
himself guilty of the murder that
is committed pursuant to his advice,
and if men band together for a for
chile resistance to the execution of
the law, and advises murder as a
means of making such resistance
effectual, whether that advice be to
one man to murder another, or to
numerous class to murder men of
another class-all who are so band
ed together are guilty of any MUIR
der committed in pursuance of such
advice
"The people of this country love
their institutions. They love their
homes, and love their property. They
will never consent that by violence
and murder those institutions shall
be torn down, their homes despoiled
and their property destroyed. And
the people are strong enough to pro-
tect and sustain their institutions,
and punish all offenders against their
institutions, and punish all offenders
against their laws; and those who
threaten danger to civil scioety, if
the law is enforced, are leading to
destruction whoever may attempt to
execute such threats. The existing
order nf society can be changed only
by the will of the majority. Each
man has the right to entertain and
advocate by speech and print, such
opinions as suit himself; and the
great body of the people usuallyicare
little what he says. But if he pro-
poses murder as means of enforc-
ing, he puts his own life at stake.
no clamor about free speech and the
evils to be cured or the wrongs to
be redressed will shield him from
the consequences of his crime. His
liberty is not license to destroy.
The liberation that he enjoys he
must extend to others, and not arro-
gantly assume that the majority are
wrong, and may rightfully be CO.
creed by terror or removed by dyna-
mite"