Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-29
SPIES SPEAKS.
He Denounces Capitalists, Berates Justice
and Saws He'll Die Game,

August Spies rose before a little table upon
which his notes were placed, along with glass
bis hair back I
somewhat intelligent forehead, and perspired
freely, indicating, the great strain upon his
physical powers which the critical situation I'M
posed upon him He spoke for three-quarters
of an hour. We present a few choice extracts
from his remarkable speech. He began by as
sorting that there was no evidence connecting
him with the Haymarket massacre. and de-
clared that the execution of the sentence
against him would be nothing less than q
willful malicious and deliberate murder, as
foul u murder as may be found in the annals of
religious, political or any other sort of persecu
tion.
1.-The class that camors for our lives, the
good and devout Christians have attempted in
every way, through their newspapers and
otherwise, to conceal the true and only issue in
archists and picturing them as g newly dis
covered tribe or species Of cannibals, by in
venting shocking and horrifying stories OF their
the naked evidence from the working people
namely, that the evening of May two hundred
armed men under the command of q notorious
with what Intention? With the intention Of
numbering them-of numbering as many as they
could. refer to the testimony, given by two
began to object to being feoced too much
They began to say some truths that were highly
disagi eeable to our patrician class. They
very modest demands. They thought that
eight hours hard toll day for scarcely
two hours pay was too much. This low
silence them was to frighten them and murder
those whom they looked up to as their leaders.
Yes, these foreign dogs had to be taught a les
son, so TINT they might never again interfere
with the high-handed exploitation of their be-
nevolent and Christian families. Bonield, the
man who would bring q blush of shame to the
the i!lustrious, with visage that would have
done excellent service to Dore in portraytng
Dante's Fiends Of Hell-Bonfield was the man
to consummate the conspiracy of the Citizens
Association Of our patricians. And if I had
thrown that bomb, or caused it to be thrown,
or had known of it, would not hesitate mo-
ment to state so. 1t is true number of lives
were lost and many were wounded; but hun
dreds of lives were thereby saved. But for
that bomb there would have been hundred
widows and hundreds of orphans where now
there are few. These facts have been sup
pressed, while we were accused and convicted
OF conspiracy by the real conspirators and
their agents. Tnis, your Honor, is one reason
why sentence should not be passed by IL court
ut has always been the opinion of the ruling
classes that the people must be kept in igno-
rance. They lose their servility, their modesty,
and obedience to the arbitrary. powers that be
rs their intelligence grows The education of
criminal otfense Why? Because the intelli-
gent slave would throw off his shackles at what
ever cost, my Christian gentlemen. Why is the
education of tho working people to-day looked
upon by certain class as treason against the
stnte? For the same reason. The state, how
ever wisely avoided this point in the prosecu,
tion of the case. The court this morning stated
that there is no case in history like this. have
noticed during this trial thnt the gentlemen OF
the legal profession are not well ve.sed in his,
tory Again, IN all historical cases OF this kind
the truth had to be perverted by the priests OF
the established powers that We're nearing their
ends.
1--WE have explained to the people the different
phenomena of the social laws and circum-
ctnncea under which they occur We have
further stated that the wage system as spe-
cific form of social development would by the
necessity Of logic, have to make room for
higher form of civilization; that the wage s rs!
foundation for social system OF cooperation.
That is socialism, We have said that the ten
dency of progress seemed to be toward anarch.
ism that is a free society, without king md End
classes-a society of sovereigns in which the
liberty and economic quality Of all will fur
nish an unsuitable equilibrium as condition
of natural order. It is not likely that the Hon.
Boufeld aud GrinneL can conceive OF O con-
dition OF social order not held intact by the
poicemen's club and pistol, nor OF a free soce-
y without prisons. gallowses. and States A. t,
fail to find place for themselves. And is this