Ten of
the anarchist leaders were promptly indicted, of whom one made
his escape and another turned State's evidence. The trial of the
remaining eight began on June 21, 1886, and two months later the
death sentence was imposed upon seven and a penitentiary term of
fifteen years upon one. The sentences of two of the seven were
commuted to life imprisonment; one committed suicide in his cell
by exploding a cartridge in his mouth; and four met death on the
scaffold. While awaiting their fate they were to a startling
extent regarded as heroes and bore themselves as martyrs to a
noble cause. Six years later, Illinois elected as governor John
P. Altgeld, one of whose first steps was to issue a pardon to the
three who were serving terms of imprisonment and to criticize
sharply the conduct of the trial which had resulted in the
conviction of the anarchists.
The Chicago outbreak and its result stopped the open spread of
anarchism. Organized labor now withdrew from any sort of
association with it. This cleared the field for a revival of the
Socialist movement as the agency of social and political
reconstruction. So rapidly did it gain in membership and
influence that by 1892 it was able to present itself as an
organized national party appealing to public opinion for
confidence and support, submitting its claims to public
discussion, and stating its case upon reasonable grounds.
Although its membership was small in comparison with that of the
old parties, the disparity was not so great as it seemed,
since the Socialists represented active intelligence while the
other parties represented political inertia.
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