Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-12
ALTGELD AND ANARCHISTS.
The Position of workingmen-A Reply
From Mr.. Kennedy.


From Mr.. Kennedy.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
In a former letter on the subject of La
Dor and Anarchy" appealed to working
men to give no sort Of countenance TO an
archy, for one cannot handle pitch with
out becoming defiled. neither can an Amer.
lean citizen express sympathy for condemn
ed anarchists or defend their hell-born
deeds without becoming more or less in
oculated with the poison that would kill
society and government. Anarchy is q
vice that Is eternally at war with the eth
les of civilization, and those who step to-
ward the dominion Of the red nag cannot
avoid the faint that attaches to all who
II matters not that they assert their abhor-
renee of the crime. If they pity and defend
the criminal. Their denials will be well
| part of their system of Machiavelis-n
which Is employed to make headway
against an adverse public sentiment: Even
detestation for anarchy and comp; ssion
for anarchists. the poison will gradually
WORK upon them them until at last they viii be
well hit on the overthrow of virtue by vice
when he said:
vice is monster Of SO frightful ,nlen.
As. to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft. familiar with her face
We first endure. then pity. then embrace"
These thoughts are forced out by the ap-
all who applaud Altgeld and praise the
Haymarket murderers disavow any SYM
pathy with anarchy.
In q recent issue of The Star a CORES
pendent who attempts 70 answer me. con-
sci0usly or otherwise. falls into the we'll
beaten path of praise and disavowtL The
statement that all his grandfathars par
ticipate1 In American wars is unimport-
ant IL true. but when advanced as a reason
why he cannot be an anarchist, ii is simply
ridiculous. All through history We learn
that man. virtuous patriotic fathers have
begotten depraved sens. and it is not out
Of the way of the question to state also
that some virtuous patriotic sons have had
depraved fathers. 1t Ia not improbable
that the very reason ne urges why he cam
not be an anarchist is just the reason Why
he might be one We will assume that bis
grandfathers We're n the revolutionary
war. They became habttuated to carnage
and the smell of an Englishmans blood
was far sweeter to them than the perfumes
of Araby. 1t intoxicated their senses.
such terrible sons of Mars that they actu-
ally waded in English blood up to the
bri1le-bits. They were in the cavalry of
course) After the British were annihilat-
ed and peace came to the young republic.
those bold warriors returned to the bosoms
OF their families. II was no easy r'atter
subdue their appetites for blood. but they
succeeded eventually by Transmitting
heavy strans of ferceness and bloodthlrst-
an apologist for the wild deeds of those
who would overthrow the government
which his sires by their valor helped TO
establish.
The correspondent alluded to is as wild
as ever Herr Most was when he states
that l seem to take it for granted that
lble." / said nothing that could be so con-
strued nor do 1 believe It, Nor am 1 likely
ever to come to such conclusion while
up before my mind 1 did say. and repeat
II. that 1 prefer the Judgment Of the SUI
preme court of Illinois to anything the an
ar list hAir fv4n de la
Gary. Prosecutor Grinnell. the jurymen.
the judges of the supreme court Of Illinois
and the judges of the Supreme Court of
the United States are all Americana. all
under the solemnity of oath to do Justice
and submit that their opinions. carefully
made up after much elaboration. unani-
nous, too, are much more worthy of Gre
dence by Americans than are the wild utter
ances of the escaped criminals of Europe
who herd under the folds of the red flag
in New York and Chicago. or the unreli-
able statements of their misguided friends
In labor unions. Courts do err at times
and who that Is human win not. but there
are not enough labor fakirs and anarch-
lists in this country to convince the Erea t
majority of the people that the courts or
dealing with the anarchists. The great
mistake was that an executive officer Of
the law. too evidently in collusioa with the
anarchists out of Jail. carried out q cor
rupt bargain, and then to cover up as much
as possible his own infamy. attempted to
heap obioquy on coordinate branch of
strongly to the presumption that there
must have been a corrupt deel with the
anarchists is the fact that before his rom
nation for governor Altgeld refused to
sign petition praying his predecessor to
pardon the anarchists.
Senator HIS Hop speech.
The correspondent quotes Senator Hills
censorious diatribe against American courts
and then assumes that will not call the
Senator an anarchist. Courtesy toward one
a in no FORT al
not permit of any such characterized ton.
But feel free to say that believe such q
speech as that delivered by Senator Hin TO
the hop growers Is conducive to anarchy,
confidence OF the public in the courts,
which are the safeguards of our institu-
lions L say 1t has such tendency, but
that Is ALL and no real harm will come of
1t. for the people well know that all such
utterances on the part of the Senator are
only buncombe to be stored away for use
In the campaign of 1896 in the event of his
being the presidential nominee of his party.
He Is no doubt preparing himself to be
more more acceptable to the populists than the
have read his hops and personal liberty
speech and have bestowed not a little
thought on II. Brushing aside the glitter
Ing generalities with which Ii Is embellishe1
and which all artful demagogues are so
wont to employ when they start out to be-
fog the public mind and TO win the popula &c
to their own interest. L can see that the
Senator has thrown out two great sops TO
the public The first Is an unworthy appeal
10 the prejudices of the disconnected That
element is foreign and naturally, by pre-
JUDGE and education, against existing i'm
situations II they do not literally flow milk
and honey. 1t is so considerable as to he
though worthy of Precipitation, and we have
TO witness with shame and modification the
spectacle Of a distinguished American Sem
ator d1Sparag1ng our own Institutions TO
curry FAVOR with Dolyglot rabble The
other sop is thrown to those who are op-
posed to organized labor. He bears down
ha he Lob b.,
the right to name his own wages, his own
hours and all the other terms under which
he Is willing to be employed, and IL he
comes to an agreement with an EMPLOYER
the contract is a personal matter with
which no other workman or employer has
any right to interfere. 1t is a bargain be-
tween two competent contracting parties.
ness but their own. Bear in mind that he
Is speaking of individual personal liberty.
Considered abstractly, the assertion is all
right, but when considered in conn ection
with organized labor which the Senator en-
deavors to propitiate with several little sops
II is all wrong. For il is in contravention
Of the cardinal principles of trades union
wages and regulate hours of work and tina I
individuals have not the right to violate
either.
Organized Labor.
In the main, l believe that the principles
of organized labor are correct, and that
they make for the elevation of our race,
Certainly a reduction of the hours of la Dor
Is in that direction and will be more surely
brought about if there Is concert Of action
by great masses than If individuals sickle