Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1886-05-12
GREAT RIOT IN CHICAGO.
Ranks OF tho P0lice---Many Killed and
Wounded on Both Sides.

The Socialists Throw Bombs Into tho
Ranks OF tho Police---Mapy Killed and
Wounded on Both Sides.
Chicago was the scene of adeadly riot on
the night of the 18th. The Socialists called
q meeting on the West Side to denounce
capitalists and encourage the striking
workmen. The place chosen was tho old
hay market on Randolph street, capable
of holding from 1900 to 10000 men.
Touching the square at one corner is Hal
stead street, the outlet to the lumber
yards, packing houses and to the factories
such as McCormick's. In close proximity
to the opposite Of the hay market is Mil
waukee avenue, leading through wide
spreading district closely populated with
Germans and Poles. Surrounding the
square on every hand are 10 cent lodging
houses, cheap saloons and many Of the low
est dives in the city. Itwas r. N. before
the meeting began. The speakers were
August Spies, editor Of an in
cendiary paper called the Ar
beitler Zeitung, A. r. Parsons and
Sam Fielding. The police were held in re-
meeting il it became violent. Spies and
Parsons had both made blood thirsty
speeches when Fielding took the stand and
spoke still more violently than the others,
urging the killing of property owners, tho
destruction of tho police and the 0verturn-
ing OF all authority. As the crowd began
to grow riotous the police numbering $50 to
200 advanced and ordered them to disperse.
At first the socialists fell back. but this was
only momentary. The meeting had begun
with about 1900 present but not more
than one-half Of that number remained
when the police ordered the meeting
order to disperse, two or taree bombs were
suddenly thrown into their ranks, and they
exploded with great force, and in a mo-
ment twenty or thirty officers lay dying or
wounded on the ground. The suddenness
and unexpected character of the deadly at
but those uniDjured soon rallied and draw
ing their pistols fred indiscriminately upon
the crowd. The mob seemed to be we'll
armed and returned the fiIe, woundiDg q
good &S %s3y %.s9Sya more of the the polio emen: stil
;Hs Sts' ss .nd ssH in :fsS %nas: nS%ss:
the police hold undisputed possession
Of the square. At II O'Clock, twenty police
men lay Oh the floor of the Desplaines
station, all disabled, and probably half
that number seriously so. Others were
square, either dead or badly wounded. A
telegram sent out at that hour on the
night of the 4th, thus described the scene.
On table in tho station house, where
the wounded policemen are, one poor
fellow lies stretched on a table with ter
rible bullet wounds in his breast. A few
feet distant a man with tattered clothes
and a mortal wound In his side is lying in
sensible on a cot. Around the room In
chairs, with their legs bandsged up and
resting on supports of different kinds, arc
some fifteen or twenty Of the officers who
were wounded by the bombs. Not q groan
or complaint is heard from any OF
them. Another officer who was found ly-
ing in doorway where he had been car
ried, or where he had dragged himself, has
juct been brought in frightfully wounded.
There are some twenty Of the Socialists in
the cells in the basement Nearly all Of
them are wounded and one of them, a
young fellow of about %, is dead.
A latter report makes the following re-
capitulation:
One socialist dead, two officers dead;
four other officers who may not survive
and thirty police who have wounds, many
Of most serious character. In addition
to this probably fifty people, nearly all
mepab~-~ Of the socialist crowd of citiz zens
of the vicinity we're shot or otherwise
wounded A great number of these were
quickly taken to different hospitals and to
private houses, so that it may be days be-
fore the full extent of tho horrors can be
brOuRht to LIGHT.