The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-01
ARBEITER BUND RIGHTS.
POLICE NOT EMPOWERED TO STOP
THEM FROM MEETING.

The Law Guardians May Interfere,
However, If Anything Unlawful
TransDires-Right of Public Assem-
bla2e Guaranteed by the Constitu-
tioa-No Evidence OF nleZality Pre-
sented.
CHICAGO. Dec. 3L-Several days ago the
Arbeiter Bund appealed TO the courts for
an injunction to prevent the police from in
terfering with their public meetings The
bill was taken before Judge Shepard, who
referred the whole matter to Master In
Chancery Thomas G. Windes to take testi-
mony and report back his findings The
master completed taking the testimony Sow
eral days ago ald concluded his report to-
| day The report reviews both the facts
and the law at length. He cites cases from
many of the state reports and from several
of the leading writers, English and Amer
lean.
NO PRECEDENT FOR INTERFERENCE.
Master Windes finds no precedent for in
| reference by injunction with official con-
duct unless property rights are involved.
| The facts in this case, he suggests, are sufH-
Gent to justify the chancellor in making
precedent in view of the uniform
practice of chancery courts in re-
| straining husbands by injunction from
| committing acts of violence upon their
wives during the pending Of divorce cases.
In the absence of any other precedent, how
| ever, he declines to recommend an injunc
| ton, as he does not deem it Within the
| power of a master to recommend injunc-
| tions, save where it is established clearly by
| precedent that they should issue, and he
contents himself by suggesting that one is
! issued.
| A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO MEET.
AS to the facts, he finds that the ccm-
| plainants have a constitutional right to
meet; that there is no testimony beyond
| mere belief of Chief Hubbard and Inspector
| Bonfield that the complainants desire to
| overthrow the laws of the state and nation
The statement of these two defend
| ants that some of the members
| of the Arbeiter Bund belong to anarchist
societies in which the overthrow of state
| and national law was advocated is not SUI
| ficiest to prove the Arbeiter Bund to be an
| illegal and revolutionary organization. He
says: THE affidavits of the compainants
| and eleven other citizens no one of whom
has ever been accused of crime, say that
| the purposes of the Arbeiter Bund are
lawful and proper.
DECLARED LAWFUL.
This testimony has not been met by the
| defendants and the master, therefore, de
| clares that the meetings proposed to be held
by the Arbeiter Bund are lawful and are
| not subject to police interference. The
| master denies that to restrain the police
from preventing the Arbeiter Bund meet
| ings would be an interference with their
"discretlon,' and on that subject he says:
"The counsel for the defendants insisted on
| the argument that an injunction in this
case, if issued, would be an Interference
with the discretion of the chief executive
| officers of the law and the conservators of
| the peace by the judiciary, which is unwar
| ranted.
OFFICIAL DISCRETION.
The position that an injunction should
not interfere with the official discretion of
executive officers of the law is, in my
opinion, a sound one, but not applicable
| to this case. The mayor and chief of
police have no discretionary power given
them by law to prevent q peaceable as
sembly of citizens. II is hostile aud
even dangerous to the genius of
our institutions and in conflict with
those upon which they are based, to
assume that policemen without judicial
power may grant or withhold the right of
citizens constitutionaly to meet in public
assembly. To state the proposition that a
policeman has this power, it seems to me,
is sufficient to refute it
NO EVIDENCE OF ILLEGALITY.
There is no testimony before me except
the mere belief of the two defendants that
the purposes of the Arbeter Bund meetings
are illegal. This would not be sufficient to
overcome the presumption that the com
plainants purposes are lawful But this pre-
sumption is fortified by the uncon-
tradcted affidavits of the compliments
that their purposes are lawful; that they
wi to meet publicly and that they have
invited and do invite the police to attend
their meetings. If the mere belief of d
police officer that projected public meetings
are for unlawful purposes, shall operate to
prohibition of such meetings, such belief
created by error, malice, bigotry or po-
litical craftsmanship be resortsd to for
the effectual extinguishment of a funda-
mental constitutional right.
WHEN POLICE MAY INTERFERE.
When citizens have assembled If they ad-
vOcate or proceed to the commission of UNI
lawful acts, or TIE overthrow of the gov
eminent or destruction of property, then
the conservators of the peace may exercise
their discretion in dispensing them. If in
this case the police have substantial ground
for that belief they should not be in debate
before master in chancery defending an
assumed judicial power, but as conservators
of the peace, should arrest the cOmplainants
and appear as their accusers in a criminal
preceding
HOW THE ARBEITER BUND LOOKS AT 1T.
The attorney for the Arbeiter Bund con-
siders the report of the master partial vic
tory only. The master simply mas some
doubts about our remedy" he said, when
asked his opinion about it. The facts are
in our favor, but the whole affair narrows
down to a question of law aud not of facts. -
Socialist George Schilling stid: 1T does
not make much difference what is done by
the court, the police will bulldoze us anyhow.
With arbitrary power in the hands of the
mayor to give or take away a saloon license
they can do what they wish. If they do
not want us TO gather in halls connected
with saloons, they will threaten to have the
license Of the saloon-keeper revoked if he
permits any such meetings to take place in
his hall.
Chief Of Police Hubbard said: "When
speakers at meetings of anarchists say that
the streets have got to fllw with blood be-
fore they can get their rights, it is plaiu the
gatherings are not for any good purpose
At any meeting where the law is openly de-
fled we shall see that 1t is suppressed