The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-08
lie inquiries Whether They Have Anything to
Say Why Sentence Should Not Be Passed,
and Great Deal Of Talk Results.
Editor Spies Makes a Wordy and Fierce
Harangue in Support of Anarchy,
ing, and Says He Is Ready to Die for
Principle-What the Others Said.

CHICAGO, Oct. AT o'clock this morning
few police paced back and forth in front of the
Criminal Court building "Ths is sentence day."
said many on the streets as they hastened toward
the spot. in hopes of entering the presence of
Judge Gary and witnessing the sensational
scenes. But only one in ten could get by the
guards at the outer door. and by 10 o'clock the
disappointed ones formed quite an assemblage
on the corners and in front of the courthouse
building. Inside the court room the yellow cur
| tains were down and the brightness of the outer
day shed somber light on the assemblage At
10 o'clock the prisoners were in their seats
They were not stolid and Indifferent, as so often
before. A change had come over some of them,
and they all exhibited evidences of great con
cern.
Judge Gary. in delivering his decision, re-
viewed at considerable length the evidence
brought out at the trial, and said concerning the
| instructions. to which exception was taken by
the defense:
"On the question of the instructions, whether
these defendants or any of them. did anticipate
or expect the throwing of the boYnb on the night
of the 4th of May, is not a question which need
| to consider, because the instructions did not go
upon that ground. The jury were not instructed
to find them guilty if they believed that they
participated in the throwing of the bomb. or en-
couraged or advised the throwing of that bomb
or had knowledge that it was to be thrown, or
anything of that sort. The conviction has not
gone upon the ground that they did have any
actual participation in the act which caused the
death of Deegan, but upon the ground, under the
| instructions, that they had generally. by speech
and print, advised large class to commit MUIR
der, and had left tine occasion, time and place to
the individual will, whim and caprice of the in
d;viduals so advised and that in consequence of
that advice, and in pursuance of it, and infu-
enced by it, somebody not known did throw the
bombahat caused Deegan's death. Now, under
| these circumstances, in the infiamed state of
| the public mind at the time, each of these ora
| tors at the Haymarket was still more infaming
| the public mind when he advised the people to
| use force, aud some mani do not say denti-
| fed. say undentfed-some man in the crowd
| when the police approached, with a bomb of
| Lingg's manufacture, kills Degan; all who have
| advised such action are guilty of his murder. If
| anything can be proved by circumstantial evil
| dence, that is proved. that he threw that bomb
| in consequence of the influence which those
| teachings, this advice by speech and printing
| over a course of two years; that the man who
| threw that bomb had been educated up to it by
| the teachings of these defendants. The case as
| said before, is unprecedented. There is no ex-
| ample of any such crime having been committed;
there is no precedent of any case like this having
become the subject CT judicial investigation; but
| the principle of law is we'll fixed"
The court then passed to the objections urged
against the form of the sentence, and quoted
from the 1O9th Illinois on the point and said
there was nothing il the circumstances of this
case anything less than murder. The insrruc-
tions in regard to manslaughter might have been
refused. There was no reason for them at ALL
Passing to the alleged disqualification of the
jury on account of having read reports in papers
of the crime and having formed opinions thereon,
he said he thought the New York decisions set
tied the case and that if verdcts were to be set
aside for the reasons urged, it would be the
| surest way to bring about anarchy, for there
would be no way in which government could be
maintained and the law administered. He con-
cluded by saying:
81 think upon the whole proof that no case
could be tried of such magnitude as this with
less in the way of irregularity Of proceeding in
| the trial than was done in this case The motion
must be overruled."
The court then addressed the prisoners as
| follows
prisoners at the Bar-For the first time dur
ing this painful and protracted proceeding it is
my duty to speak to You and call upon you in
| dividually and separately, to say whether
| you have anything to say why sentence should
not be passed upon you according to the verdict
| of the jury. l will first call upon Mr. Neebe"
3
that am advised that the defendants expect to
speak in response to this, severaly at consid-
erable length. Would it not be better now to
adjourn till o'clock9
The court then adjourned till o'clock
When court was opened this afternoon, the
defendant Spies at once addressed the court,
with manuscript in hand. He said:
'Your Honor in addressing this court,
speak as the representative of one class ad-
dressing the repre- sentative of another | will
begin with the words addressed five hundred
years ago on similar motion by the Venetian
Doge who, addressing the court said, NV de-.
fense is your accusation; the cause of my al
legged crime is your history ] have been in
dited on charge of murder, as an accomplice
or accessory. Upon this indictment have been
convicted. There was evidence produced by
the State to show or even indicate that had
any knowledge of the man who threw that
bomb, or that myself had anything to do with
it. Not the slightest evidence was ever pro-
duced to show that had anything to do with
the throwing of the missile, unless you be-
lleve the testimony of the accom- pices
of the States attorney and Bonfeld-
the testimony of Thompson and Gilmer
If there was no evidence to show that I was re-
sponsible for it, then my execution and the exc
cution of the verdict is nothing but wiful
malicious and deliberate murder-as foul mur-
der as may De found in the annals of religious,
political, or any other sort of execution Judi
cial murders have III many cases been committed
where the representatives of the State were
acting in good faith believing their victims to
be guilty of the charge they were accused Of In
this case the representatives of the State cannot
shield themselves with similar excuses for they
themselves have fabricated most of the testi-
mony which used as a pretense to convict
US. We were convicted by q jury packed to
convict US. charge the States attorney and
Bonfeld with a heinous conspiracy to commit
murder.
81 will now state little incident which may
throw some light or this: Upon the evening of
the Haymarket meeting. about o'clock. met
young man. Keckner by name. Ny brother
was with me at the time, and never left me ON
that evening until | jumped from the wagon, O