The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1893-07-19

case Of the Harmonic Association Of Joiners
against Brennan ct al, reported in the Chicago
Legal Ne,OS.
JUDGE M'ALLIsTER's OPINION
"Among other things, Judge McAllister says:
The facts established by large number OF
witnesses, and without any opposing evidence
are, that this society, having leased Turner
hall on West Twelfth street for the purpose,
held meeting in the forenoon Of said day In
said hall, composed OF from 200 to 800 indtvtd.
uals, most OF whom were jOurneymen cabinet
makers engaged In the several branches Of the
manufacture Of furniture I'm Chicago, but some
OF those in attendance were the proprietors in
that business or delegates sent by them. The
object Of the meeting was to obtain a confer
ence of the journeymen with such prOprietors
or their authorized delegates with the view
OF endeavoring to secure an increase OF the
price or the diminution OF the hours OF labor.
The attendants were wholly unarmed and the
meeting was perfectly peaceable and orderly,
and while the people were sitting quietly with
their backs toward the entrance hall, with q
few persons on the stage In front OF them. and
all engaged merely iu the business for which
they had assembled, a force Of from fifteen to
twenty policemen came suddenly into the
hall having apOliceman's club In one hand
and revolver in the other, and making
no pause to determine the actual char
acter of the meeting they Immediately
shouted: "Get out OF here, you - -
-" and began beating the people with
their clubs, some Of them actually firing their
reV0lyefs. One young man was shot through
the back Of the head and killed. But to COM
plete the atr0City Of the affair on the part OF
the officers engaged in II, when the people
hastened to make their escape from the as
sembly room, they found policemen stationed
on either side of the stairway leading from
the hall down to the street, who applied their
clubs to them as they passed, seemingly with
all the violence practicable under the circum
stances.
Jacob Blersdorf, who was q manufacturer of
furniture employing some 200 men, had been
invited to the meeting and came, but as he
was about to enter the place where Ii was
held, an inOffensive old man, doing nothing
unlawful, was stricken to the ground at his
feet by policeman's club.
These general facts were established by an
overwhelming mass OF testimony and, for the
purpose Of the questions in the case 1t Is need
less to go further into the details.
The chief political right OF the citizen In our
government, based upon the popular will as
regulated by law, is the right of suffrage, but
to that right two others are auxiliary and OF
almost equal Importance:
1. The right Of free speech and ofa free press.
2. The right Of the people to assemble In
peaceable manner to consult for the common
good
GUARANTEES OF THE CONSTITUTION.
These are among the fundamental principles
of government and guaranteed by our consti-
tuition. Section II, article 2, OF the bill Of
rights, declares:
SThe people have a right to assemble In
peaCeable manner to consult for the common
good, to make known their opinions TO their
representatives and apply for redress Of grieV-
ances."
Jurists do not regard these declarations of
the bill OF rights as creating or comforting the
rights, but as guarantees against their depri-
walton or infringement by any OF the powers or
agencies OF the government The rights them
selves are regarded as the natural inalienable
rights belonging to every Individual, or as po-
litical, and based upon or arising from prtnci-
pies inherent In the very nature OF system
Of free government.
Judge Cooley, In his excellent work on
"Torts," speaking (p. 1861 OF remedies for the
invasion OF political rights, says:
"When meeting for any lawful purpose Is
actually called and held one who goes there
with the purpose to disturb and break IL
up and commits disorder to that end Is tress-
passer upon the rights Of those who, for the
time, have the control Of the place OF meeting.
n fseveFel unite In the disorder II may be
EsfifElnal riot"
Heo much for Judge McAllister.
,I@Now 1t is shown that no attention was paid
to the judges decision; that peaceable meet
ings were invaded and broken up and inoffen-
siye people were clubbed; that in 1885 there
was a strike at the Mccormick reaper factory
on account of reduction Of wages, and some
Pinkerton men, while on their way there,were
hooted at by some people on the street, when
they fred into the crowd and fatally wounded
several people who had taken no part In any
disturbance; that four Of the Pinkerton men
were indicted for this murder by the grand
jury, but that the prosecuting officers appar-
emily took no interest in the case and allowed
1t to be continued number Of times, until
the witnesses we're worn out and In the end
the murderers went free that after this there
was strike on the West Division street railway
and that some Of the police, under the leader
ship Of Captain John BonHeld, INDUCED in a
hrnkalitv navar aouaIlad hagora. that ovan