Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-08-22
SOCIALIST RALLY
John Collins and Samuel Block, Can
dfdates for Governor and Attor-
ney General, Speak at Picnic.
FORMER TELLS OF ARREST
At Springfield for Disturbance Of the
Peace-Appeal Made to the Labor
ing Classes to Arouse.

John Collins. of Chicago, and Sam
uel Block. of Peoria, candidates, re-
spectively. for governor and attorney
general of Illinois on the socialist
ticket, delivered addresses yesterday
afternoon at the first of a series of
picnics given under the auspices OF
the party III Rock Island at Huber's
garden.
Mr. Collins noted that it was the
first picnic held in Rock Island by the
socialists, and he was glad to see so
many enjoy themselves. Most of them
were Germans. and he was probably
the only Irishman in the crowd. In
stead of sauer kraut growing out of
his nose. he had potatoes budding from
that appendage He said that the
working class, to accomplish anything,
had to stay closer together than it had
been doing, and he prophesied that
the time was near at hand when the
working class would arouse and make
a fight for its liberation from the chOk-
ing chains of the capitalists. Speak
ing of his arrest in Springfield last
week, MIR. Collins said that people of
the old parties did it in order to pre-
vent his speaking on socialism, and to
try to keep the working class in Ig-
nOrance, and not let them see that
they are standing in their own light.
He had announced the sale of litera-
ture on socialism at Springfield when
a policeman came up to him and ask
ed him if he had license to sell books,
when the speaker said that he did not
that if it was not lawful to sell the
books he would not.
Refuses to Quit Talking.
He proceeded to talk, when the po-
liceman shouted at him to stop. Mr..
Collins would not do so and said that
he would have to be arrested before
he quit speaking. He was arrested and
taken to the police station. The police
man told the chief that Collins was
trying to sell books without a license.
The speaker said that he was given his
liberty, and as he walked out of the
station he was telling the large crowd
that had followed him to the station
that he was not going to speak that
night. but that he was the night fol
lowing He said that a fly cop then
picked him up for causing a disturb
ance of the peace, and this time he
was put into Jail with negroes. drunk
en- men and all kinds of other bad
characters. He retained the services
of a lawyer. and with the assistance
of his attorney and his friends he was
released from Jail. He cited this story
as being generally applicable to the
methods used by the democratic and
republican parties in suppressing So
Cialism, the exponent of what he call
ed righteousness. In making an APP
peal to young men. Mr.. Collins told
them that they would have to make a
harder fight than they are at present to
get from the serfdom they are now put
in by the capitalists. The speaker
said that when men suffered the pangs
of hunger and the lack of the necessi-
ties of life. as a natural result women
and children did likewise. only more
buy = glass of beer and get a lunch
with it, while with women and chill
dren the case was different. The
capitalists were developing a system
that, if allowed to continue. would soon
throw the working class out of employ
ment and wreall horrible consequences
upon the country. Modern machinery
was one factor in throwing men out of
employment aud that was getting
worse all along.
MI.