188 



RIOTS. 



which had been piled up in repairing adjoining street*. 

 A body of 300 policemen, detailed t<> defend the opera- 

 house, were soon overpowered. Stones foil among the 

 audience, ami women in their terror crawled under the 

 semis. Tin- < niter doors of the opera-house were of 

 iron, very .-mmi:. and all opened outwards ; now locked 

 and barred, they withstood the assault* of tin- ml> 

 until succor arrived. At the request of the civil au- 

 thorities Gen. Sanford, the division commander, had 

 kept tin- Se\i nib V' jinn ni. N. 6., in readiness, and 

 now ordered tin-in to tin- scene. Preceded by a com- 

 pany of cavalry ten abreast, they arrived at Astor 

 Place about 9 o'clock ; the cavalry charged through 

 Astor Place from Broadway to Third avenue, but the 

 showers of stones rendered the horses unmanageable. 

 Then the Seventh regiment, under Col. Duryea, charged 

 through Astor Place from Broadway to Third avenue. 

 through Eighth street to Broadway, down Broadway 

 to Astor Place again, and formed in line in front of the 

 opera-house. The mob returned to the attack, and 

 (Jen. Sand ford. Gen. Hall, Col. Duryea, Capts. Shum- 

 way and Pond were all severely wounded, together with 

 a large number of the men. The mayor still declined 

 to give permission to fire, but sheriff Westervelt 

 assumed the responsibility. Recorder Tallniadge gave 

 a last warning to the mob, and this being disregarded, 

 the order to fire was given. The first volley, directed 

 over the heads of the crowd, produeed_no effect upon 

 the mob. but unfortunately resulted in killing and 

 wounding some innocent persons in other streets. 

 The next volley was fired point-blank into the midst of 

 the mob with terrible effect. The regiment then 

 charged and the mob fled. But their leaders rallied 

 them again in Eighth street and Lafayette Place and 

 renewed the conflict. A third volley was enough. 

 The rioters fled in all directions, and the struggle was 

 ended. Twenty rioters were killed, and over 50 more 

 or less severely wounded. None of the regiment were 

 killed, but 150 were wounded, 70 so severely that it 

 was necessary to carry them to their homes. Many of 

 them carried the scars for the rest of their lives. K\ e- 

 witnesses were unanimous in the statement that the 

 conduct of the regiment throughout was perfect The 

 regiment has on later occasions been called upon to aid 

 in the suppression of*riots, but generally all disorder 

 has ceased trwtnotncnt it appeared upon the ground. 



The " Draft Riots " in New York city in July, 1863, 

 occupy altogether too large a place in the history of the 

 civil war to DC treated here. But it may be remarked 

 that the simple love of plunder was far more powerful 

 than is generally supposed in prolonging the disturb- 

 ance. Before the Colored Orphan Asylum was set on 

 fire, all that was portable of the furniture was carried 

 off uninjured, not only by the rioters themselves but 

 by their wives and children. 



Nearly all the riots which have occurred in the United 

 States in recent years have been connected with what are 

 called "labor troubles." Most of these di.-tnrbances 

 have been brought to end without any extensive de- 

 struction of property and without bloodshed. (See 

 STRIKES.) The great " Haymarket Riot" in the city 

 of Chicago was of a different character. The great 

 and acknowledged political and social evils existing in 

 Europe have, during the present century, given rise to 

 multifarious and contradictory schemes of reforms. 

 One class of those who profess to seek the reformation 

 of these evils regard the accumulation of property by 

 individuals as the source of all the misery in the world. 

 Their doctrine may be stated thus : the destruction of 

 capital and the slaughter of capitalists is the indis- 

 pensable preliminary to the removal of social evils. 

 The name of "Anarchists " has been applied to these 

 men, and they themselves have accepted the designa- 

 tion with alacrity and pride. Almost all the AIM 

 have emigrated from Kurope to the United States, 

 some from fear of the law, others because they sup- 

 )K>scd that the greater freedom of speech and of the 

 this country would afford them a better oppor- 



tunity to propagate their doctrines They also quickly 

 observed the difference in the HUMUS available for en- 

 forcing the law and preserving public order in this 

 country and in Europe. In Europe not only were tin- 

 laws far more severe and the civil authorities more 

 strict and less scrupulous in their execution, but every 

 attempt of the Anarchists to carry out their designs 

 was immediately and relentlessly crushed by a vast and 

 well-disciplined standing army ever present and always 

 ready ana obedient In the United States the pres- 

 ervation of law and order, as the Anarchists saw, de- 

 pends almost exclusively upon the civil authorities. 

 The only military force which they in case of necessity 

 could call to their aid is the militia, composed of citi- 

 zens who are usually engaged in their ordinary peaceful 

 avocations. The regular U. S. army, only a handful 

 when compared with that of any oi the great powers 

 of Europe, is widely distributed in small garrisons, 

 mostly on the frontiers, and the assistance of any por- 

 tion of it in the suppression of a riot could only be 

 obtained after a compliance with tedious formalities. 

 As a rule no military power is anywhere visible. 



Various circumstances had made the city of Chicago 

 a sort of head-quarters of the Anarchists. There thev 

 established an organ, the "Arbeiter Zeitung," in which 

 the advocacy of arson and murder was hardly disguised. 

 They held frequent meetings and labored vigorously to 

 excite the enmity of the working people against their 

 employers. On Saturday, May 1, I88n, alxmt 40,000 

 jaboring men struck work demanding that eight hours 

 instead of ten should thereafter be considered a work- 

 ing day. Large processions of workingmen marched 

 through the streets, visiting the great industrial es- 

 tablishments and urging those who had returned to 

 their work to join them. Business was almost entirely 

 stopped. The railroads were at a standstill. The 

 freignt-houses were closed and barred, and the few 

 freight-handlers who had not joined in the strike 

 worked under the protection of guards with revolvers 

 in their hands. The processions of strikers, especially 

 those in which Germans, Poles, and Bohemians pre- 

 dominated, halted at intervals to listen to the inflam- 

 matory harangues of Anarchist orators. But no aetual 

 violence of any account was committed. On Monday 

 morning. May 3, a great crowd gathered about the 

 McConnick reaper-works and endeavored to prevent 

 the hands from returning to work. They succeeded 

 in forcing or frightening about 700 of the men into 

 a compliance with their demands. About the same 

 number entered the building and resumed work. At 

 noon the company announced to these that the eight- 

 hour day would be adopted, and that the men could 

 also have a half holiday. But the crowd outside, un- 

 aware of the fact, assailed the men as they left the 

 building. Some of them escaped by flight, and the 

 others retreated into the building. The mob then 

 began demolishing the windows with stones. A volley 

 fired over their heads by the small guard within was 

 greeted with shouts of derision, and the mob proceeded 

 to attack the doors with crowbars. A patrol wagon 

 filled with policemen drove into the crowd ; the police- 

 men alighted and drew their revolvers. But a large 

 portion of the mob were also armed, and after dis- 

 charging a volley of stones, followed it up with a volley 

 of bullets. The policemen returned the fire. None of 

 them were hurt but some of the crowd were wounded, 

 and when a reinforcement of the police arrived the 

 rioters fled. In the evening handbills printed in 

 English and German were posted about the city calling 

 upon workmen to meet on the evening of the next day, 

 Tuesday, May 4, in an open place known as the 

 "Old Ilnyrnarkct," at the corner of DCS Plaines and 

 Randolph streets. At the appointed time about 1 !<> 

 men assembled, many of whom had been prominent in 

 the riot of the previous day. A violent rainstorm com- 

 pelled some to retire, but tiie rest remained to listen to 

 the speeches of the Anarchist orators. A police force 

 of abeut 200 men, stationed at a short distance, wert 



