Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-07-17
TRIAL OF THE SOCIALISTS.
A Hitch il the Proceedings Early in
the Day-InspectOr BOnfield Called as
the First Witness-A Former Anarch.
ist Gives Some Damaging Evidence in
Behalf of the state.
CHICAGO, July l6.

Behalf Of the >tate.
CHICAGO, July l6.
After many weeks and after interminable
delay spent in exhausting every device EN-.
ployed BY crafty lawyers, the trial of the
Anarchists haslbegun in earnest. This morn
ing eight men, who were to answer for the
Haymarket massacre, took their seats in
Judge Gary's court. Their manner betrayed
no sense of uneasiness. Apparently they
were careless of the past and indifferent as 10
the future.
Without the court room was congregated a
large crowd. Down stairs there was another
crowd, and still another and large one was
gathered in front of the entrance of the GRIM
inal court building. On the opening of the
court at 10 O'Clock the States attorney re-
quested an adjournment until eleven O'Clock
which was granted. The reason for this ad-
iournment was given in a rumor which is to
the effect that the state has met with trouble
on sccount of its witnesses or certain of them.
The story is that some of them denied this
morning the truth of their disclosures rela.
tive to the existence of dynamite conspr-
acy. The States attorney office is closed TO
all attempts to get information bearing on the
truth falsity of this report
Grinnel later said his reason for desiring
a delay was due to the circumstances that
witnesses in a certain branch Of tine case had
not appeared. These witnesses were news
paper men, reporters mostly, who are to
testify to the early scenes of the Haymarket
before the riot was precipitated.
Huge maps of Haymarket square, showing
the relative positions of the police, crowd
and speakers OF the fatal meeting of May Sth,
was shown, prepared by Felix G. Buchek,
architect and draughtsman, who was the first
man sworn and who gives minutest details as
to the distances between various parts of the
square.
Inspector Bonfield then took the stand. He
was in command of the police on the night of
May 9th. There were present Lieuts. Steele,
Bowler, Penseen, Stanton, Hubbard, Beard
and Quinn with detachments of men,
at was about 10 o'clock when the men
were ordered out. There were about 100 of
them in all. They marched up the street
intending TO guard the thoroughfare. In
structions were that no man should fire un-
less ordered to do so by superior officer
On arriving at Haymarket he turned to the
crowd and said We are peaceable.' In-
stantly the crowd parted in peculiar man-
ner. He thought then he heard Il kissing
noise. lie had had some experience with
dynamite and fuse, and knew in an instant
what was going to happen. Then bullets
were fired into the police for perhaps a min
ute or so before a single shot was fired by
the police
Continuing, witness said that 60 persons
were injured by bullets fred bv the Anar-
chists, and OF these seven had since died. At
least 100 shots were fired by the Anarchists
before the police returned fire. Officer Du-
gan was killed on the spot and the witness
then gave an order for the police to fire.
There were four or five men on wagon in
the square when the police arrived He
could not tell from what direction the fatal
bomb came.
Gotfried Waller. Swiss, was placed on
the stand. He was a member of the Lehr
Und Wehr Verein until four months ago.
1t was society for exercising arms and in
struction, and the organization drilled and
exercised in arms. He said the Arbeiter
Zetung published an advertisement, calling
the society together with arms on May 4th
private letters being shown in the advertise
ment to signify that arms were to be brought
by members. They met that evening at
Griets Hall and witness presided. Several
revenge circulars were distributed at the
meeting. Then it was proposed to storm
police stations, cut telegraph wires and cut
down every one in their path. Ell gels said
the easiest way to demolsh police stations
was to throw bombs
Those present at the meeting were not to
participate in the Haymarket riot, only the
committee was to be there, but others were
to hold themselves in readiness to 90 if sum-
moned. TWAS also intended to disable the
fire department. The plan was adopted to
storm all the = lice stations simultaneously,
but each sOclaiistlc or.auiZation was to act
independently in its district
II was not intended to allow the police to
get tp Haymarket that night, but it was in
tended It The strikers were attacked then the
police who attacked them should be shot In
case the police should arrive and try to dis
perse the meeting at Haymarket 1t was re-
solved 10 strike them down with bombs or
whatever should be at their disposal Each
group appointed delegates to form the comllit-
teeithat was to be sent to Haymarket Iftrouble
occurred in the daytime the signal to that
effect was to be spread among all the organi-
cations, and if at night another such signal
was to be sounded to call the organizations
with arms for action. These signals were to
be published in the Arbiter Zeitung. Fischer
arranged the signals to be published.
All presented the adopted plan proposed,
and il was Engel who put the question to the
meeting The witness WAS at Zepf's Hall
when the bomb was thrown, and after that
event he at once went home believing that
100 people had been killed.
The witness was asked if he ever had anv
bombs. To this the defence warmly OBJ
Jected and took occasion to denounce the
witness as cowsrdly informer,
The States attorney contended that the
testimony would tend to prove that a gigantic
conspiracy existed to cause a revolution and
that the State intended to introduce evidence
that would hang every one of the defendants
for murder. The laws of Illinois were such
that every participant in this conspiracy could
be hanged if proven guilty.
The counsel for the defense asked: "If
you show that one of these men threw one of
these bombs without the knowledge or au-
thority of any of these defendants, is that
murder?"
Judge Gray in deciding that point said !:
''If there was a combination among great
number of individuals to kill the policemen
if they came in conflict with workingmen or