Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1908-04-16
BRUTAL ASSAULT
etaSo IIintonsAl
New York Police Follow Example
of other Capitalist Cossacks
at rlass Meeting
HUNTER ISSUES STATEMENT
Needless Atrocities Arouse lndig-
nation

With all the brutality that has char
aeterized the present capitalist cam
paign of suppression of free speech,
the police force of New York City
broke up a peaceable assemblage OF
10000 OF more of unemployed men
and women Saturday afternoon at
Union Square, where they had gath
cred to discuss the miserable straits
in which they found themselves This
meeting had been previously arranged
and advertised by the sicialist party
Of New York City.
Permission had been applied for by
the organization to the police COM
missioner, and a permit had been re-
fused Thereupon notice was given
that the unemployed would gather at
that place and that the noted sociolo'
gist and socialist, Robert Hunter,
would be one of the principal speakers.
Regular committees had been elected
whose duties would consist in pre-
serving quiet and good order, and the
arrangements were made to conform
to the requirements of gathering of
the size anticipated.
The capitalist rulers of the city and
the nation, drunk with greed and
power, were not slow to use the method
best known to themselves to turn
this occasion of helpless, starving
wage slaves making known their suf.
ferings and their needs, into one of
such carnage and disorder as would
serve their own reaetionary purposes.
II is not and 1T may never be,
known why Silverstein, the youth, at
tempted to throw the bomb which pre-
maturely exploded and killed one man,
injuring himself and some of the police.
This much is known, however, that the
socialists had nothing to do with it,
and that IL the Cossack methods of
Russia had not been employed by the
metropolitan police upon orderly and
peaceful people, no such act would
have been attempted. Unless, indeed,
as is not at all unlikely, the authori-
coup TO defeat the peaceful ends of
the victims of the ruthless capitalist
system in their efforts to acquaint
the world with their condition.
No wonder the capitalist class did
not want the world of workers, by
whose consent alone they retain their
position of insolent power, to hear the
calm and truthful message of these
brothers and sisters who are facing
starvation in the midst of the plenty
they themselves had helped create.
AZ was to be expected, the capital.
list forces Of reaction, notably the pros
titute press, from one end of the coun.
try to the other, seized upon the re.
ported riot to attempt to further con-
fuse their readers by shouting "anar-
chy" and holding the socialists as well
to blame for everything their feignel
alarm could read into the occurrence.
The following extracts from the As
sociated Press reports tend to show
how absolutely unwarranted were the
actions OF the police:
"Mr. Hunter said until he arrived at
the square he was ignorant Of the fact
that speech making had been forbidden.
He learned this of the police and then
determined to speak in order that the
right of peaceful assemblage and free
speech might be tested in the courts
He added that he had no chance TO
be heard. for the police charged the
crowd with incredible brutality
nMr. Hunter described his own es-
cape from under a horses hoofs; told
how he was dragged by Officers from
the steps of building from which he
had hoped 10 speak, and how what wac
intended as a peaceful assembly in fur
therance of aid for the unemployed
was broken up with a scene that he
thought 'could not be duplicated out
side Of Russia
"This proved to be busy Sunday
for the police and the socialists who
were responsible for yesterdays
demonstrations. There was no act
OF violence OF disturbance OF any sort,
but the police were busy looking up
the record of the bomb-thrower an !
others under arrest, while the socialists
were as active in repudiating sympathy
with the outrage or knowledge Of the
perpetrator.
"a general committee Of the local
Socialist party met and set forth their
side of the story. They claimed that
the meeting was made up Of law
abiding persons and accuse the police
Of melting the people to riot. Many
statements were issued by individuals
all deploring the act of violence and
all taking the police to account"