The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-08-20
Audience Cheers a Declaration
in Favor of Continuing
Street Meetings.
POLICE ARE NOT TO BLAME.
They Simply obsyed the Orders o
Monopolists Opposed to Social.
istic Principles.


was crowded last evening and the gallery
reasonably well flied in answer to the call
of the Socialist Labor party, to enter pro-
test against the recent arrests of the
speakers OF that party on the streets.
G. B. Benham presided and called the
meeting to order. Mr.. Benham said:
For several years the most outrageous
arrests of street speakers have been made
in this City. 1t is for the purpose of call
ing your attention to these outrageous ar
rests and of giving expression to our con-
domination of them and of setting up our
rights under the constitution of the United
States that we have come together here.
A few evenings ago a speaker at the cor
ner of Sixth and Folsom streets was dis
cussing before a small crowd some of the
most absorbing questions of the time. A
policeman heard it above the swash of
steam beer and arrested the speaker.
Other men similarly engaged have been
arrested on the water front and Others
taken from their homes on Sunday morn
ing. We feel that it is time that we should
make a protest. Members of the Free
Press Defense Association and mem bers
of the Trade and Labor Alliance have of
tered to lend US their aid"
Miss Aspben, accom- paDying herself on the
violin, sang The Song That Reached My
Heart" which was loudly encored. George
Aspben, one of the men who were ar
rested on the street for speaking gave a
recitation from Popes Essay on Man"
George Speed, one of the men under arrest,
was introduced and said: 81 will not
speak to you on the legal phases of the
case, as l know nothing of it. What l
know is that the constitution of this coun-
try guarantees to every American citizen
the right OF free speech. Every other
party Is granted every privilege in this re-
gard. Merchants ring bells and beat pans
to attract customers into their stores and
there is no protest. In Rhode Island l
notice that the officials take particular
pains to arrest the single takers. Here
they single out the Socialists. The police
force is employed to see that the law is
observed.
1.-The fact is they are the first to break
the law. [ wish to say as one who was
arrested that l propose to speak on the
street; it is the duty or every man to do it.
Applause. On that Saturday night at
Seventh and Market streets, when we were
getting ready to erect our platform,
policeman came along and asked us what
We were going to do there, and before he
got his answer he said we had better move
on. l told him we were going to meet
right there. He said, We'll see,' and he
ran away and in a few minutes the patrol
wagon came along and hustled US to the
lookup. But we are going to speak again,
and speak again on the street. It is in
suit to injury to tell US to hire hall We
have no money. They won't let US work
and earn money and we can't hire hall.
1.-The police are a lot of blackmailers.
AT meeting the other night lady heard
a policeman say: Here comes the
BON b-throYers.' She said: IF there are
any bombs to be thrown it is you and the
likes Of you who will throw them No,
my friends, the public-street meetings of
the Socialist Labor party will continue"
Applause.
Chairman Benham next introduced G..
Haskell, the attorney who is engaged in
the defense OF the men arrested. He said
he was not a Socialist, but was in the halt
way house-a Populist. He declared he
was going to win this case-there was no
doubt CT it. He had all the law-and more
than that, the constitution-on his SIDE
He did not believe the police officers
were TO be condemned individually: thew
were wage-earners and brave men, and
were i'll making these arrests simply doing
what they were ordered to do. As for
Chief Crowley, he also, he said, was an
honest man ana a Wage-earner, and in
ordering his men to make the arrests he
was simply doing what he himself had
been ordered to do by the millionaires who
own the whole outfit.
The speaker read the constitution guar
anteeing free speech at all times and
places, and forbidding forever the enact
ment of any law restraining, limiting or
abridging that right. He also read the
City ordinance touching the subject, re-
quiring men to ''move on when at any
time they obstruct traffic, Except it be a
public meeting"
The speaker said the information under
NH oh bao 80, Lol Lnz
clared that the gatherings which the men
were addressing were not public meet
lngs." This, he said, was too ridiculous
to dwell upon. Laughter. The fact is.
when the people assemble to express their
sentiments upon any subject the Market
street cars must stop and wait if they are
in the way. Applause. The police say
they would not interfere if the meetings
were held at some place where it would
not Interfere with other people, Well.
the police nor anybody else have to be con-
suited as to where public meetings are to
be held. If it was held in a lott. where.
possibly, it would not interfere, it would
then not be public meeting. Laughter
t'We had to bring suit against the Off
GERS, said the speaker, "because we could
not get at the real power behind them,
We will convict the policemen, and then
ask the Judge to fine them four bits lust
as a lesson, teaching them not to interfere
again with the people when gathered In
public meeting. Just watch the papers
tomorrow and see how we do 'em up.''
Applause.
Chairman Benham now announced that
street meetings would be continued, as
follows, until the doctrines of the Social
ist Labor party should be adopted in the
United States or until the socialists had
all died off,:
Monday evening, at Pine and streets
Tuesday evening at Sixth and Folsom streets
Wednesday evening, at Fourth and Howard
streets.
Thursday evening. at Ninth and Howard streets.
Thursday evening, at Sixth and Folsom Streets
Friday evening, at Page and Market streets
Saturday evening" Seventh and Market streets
[Appause.
avenue
Indoor meetings will be held on Sunday
afternoon at 909 Market street; Wednes-
day evening in the Temple on Turk street.
and Thursday evening at $40 Folsom
street.
The chairman now called upon James
H Barry, who, ne said, had promised to
address the meeting, but voices from near
the door said that Mr.. Barry had gone out.
f. T. Kingsley followed in long speech.
which drifted along the lines of socialistic
doctrines. The speaker said nothing could