Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-03
DON'T LIKE HANGING.
Socialists Object to the Execution Of
Braddock Murderers.
IT>WAS TALK AND NOTHING ELSE.
Speeches in English and German Last
Night at Lafayette Hall.
VERY MILD CALL is MADE FOR BLOOD

Under the auspices of the International
Working Peoples Association and the Ger
man Trades Assembly.a meeting was called
for last night in Lafayette Hall to protest
against the hanging of the three Hungar-
ians convicted of the Braddock riot murder.
Every seat on the main floor was filled,
among those present being half dozen
women. who occupied front seats. The con-
viction and sentence of the Braddock riot
ers was evidently a secondary consideration,
for it was only referred to briefly in the two
speeches that were made, one in English and
the other in. German.
There were two chairmen, as there were
two speakers-one English, the other Ger
man. When John Altman. of New York,
was introduced by John German, of the In
ternational Association, there was much
applause, and, indeed, when Robert Steiner,
who spoke in German. made his bow upon
an introduction by Mr.. Eideman,
in German, there was also considera-
Bile clapping of hands. AS a matter of
fact. the English speaker seemed to have
the majority of hearers who could under
stand him, but his talk was SO rambling
that it was hard to get the hang of it. Mr..
Altman promised what he had to say by
remarking that he could not understand
why a meeting hould be called to protest
against the hanging of the Braddock
strikers, when there were similar outrages
being perpetrated all over the United
States. Then he dismissed that portion of
his subject.
Why He Is Revolutionist.
"Why am radical; why am revo-
lutionist?" he questioned. because of the
crushing down OF the poor in our glorious
land of the free. Because, according to the
census of 1890, 5000, 600 Of people are sup
ported by charity. Charity means the
tramp and the sot- All you have got to do
is to cut off this excrescence. The people
who advise this forget that the sot probably
drinks through necessity, while as matter
of fact the bigger drunkard is tn man who
can afford to do his drinking at his leisure.
So long as workmen will strike and submit
to bloated champagne drinkers, they deserve
to suffer and deserve to LOSE
Altman then went back to the old Greek
days, and came down gradually, instancing
all the reforms that had occurred, until he
reached the French and American Revolu-
tions. Speaking of the latter, he said it had
not been caused by excessive taxation, but
by the writings of Thomas Paine. His histori-
cal facts were all right, but when he would
every few minutes interpolate the remark,
"Whatever that is," evidently meaning
something of which he knew nothing, the
audience was left in state that was not at
all satisfactory. When, in the hurry of his
remarks, he spoke of Taconv, part of Phil
adelphia county, as suburb of Pittsburg,
there was no questions about his being
little beyond his depth. One of the audience
remarked that Mr.. Altman had just left
the City of BrotherlY Love, and that such
slip was excusable. Still, it didn't help the
comparison which he ATTEMPTED to draw.
A Plea for the Messenger Boy.
He thought the opportunities of 1776 were
opportunities the American people had
neglected. Every man was free under the
Constitution and also equal-on paper. That
was perfectly safe assertion and the paper
was kept in safe place. He asserted that
the people had done their voting and had
voted themselves into slavery. Political
freedom without economical freedom makes
people slaves. Then. the speaker
made a remark which caused an
audible litter. In denouncing the employ
ment of little cash girls in New York City,
the condition of the railroad miners, whose
grievances had just been settled. he ex-
claimed: "And here is the district messen-
ger boy, working for a mere pittance. He
is the iibe of the newspaper; a poor little
overworked fellow. Too much is expected
of him. ! know that when I was boy
felt more like playing hooky than going to
school; more like stealing cherries than
running an errand. In fact, was lazy"
Twisting his subject again, he said that
the man who got the votes was the Fourth
of July orator, such men as Depew, Carne-
gle and W. L. Scott. These are the men
who are crying out that the people who are
against their unjust demands are
foreigners. They are foreigners because they
cannot live on less wages than are paid
American workmen. "The remedy? I
don't care what the remedy is-force or
what not. You will find the greatest
poverty among the hardest workers, despite
what capitalists may say. The system up
held by the Pinkertons in the coke region is
one that we must not stand. Why are you
quieH VIII you ever gain anything by 1t?
He Does Not Want Blood.
ST am not asking for blood, but when we
find that men are shot down and sentenced |
to be hanged for protecting their rights it |
makes our blood boil. So long as these peo-
pie keep within the law they may do as they |
please-that is. the people who do the shoot |
ing and hanging. If we say this must stop |
then we are revolutionists. For my part I |
would not be on the other side for millions, |
and I am speaking tonight because my |
heart is in the work. 1 get nothing for it. |
Justice is bound come. Remember the |
words of August Spies, MY silence will be
more powerful than nv words He was a |
patriot, and such he died."
The speaker concluded with an all-round |
denunciation of the pulpit, the press and the
public schools. As he bowed his acknow-
Judgments to the applause, Chairman Cor
man ordered collection to be taken up.
Then Mr.. Steiner spoke. He is the editor
IF the Arbeiter ZeitNng, of Chicago, the
paper which was controlled by Spies pre-
vious to the Haymarket massacre. His
speech was short, and at its conclusion the
audience quietly dispersed. There were no
resolutions adopted.