Below is a newspaper article, “The Right Spirit” which was published on May 27, 1886 in The Kirwin Chief. Many prominent Bohemians publicly denounced the recent violent riots and distanced themselves from accused Bohemian anarchists. For historical context, keep in mind the Haymarket Square Incident.
“In 1886, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions organized a May Day general strike to demand an eight-hour day. On May 1st, 80,000 workers lay down their tools and peacefully marched up Michigan Avenue.” “Meanwhile, a strike was on at the McCormick Reaper Works. On May 3, strikers attacked scabs leaving the McCormick building. Immediately, two hundred policemen attacked the crowd, swinging nightsticks and firing their guns. Two workers were killed. The anarchists called for a rally at Haymarket Square to protest the deaths.” The following night, after the mayor spoke, the police sent in troops. “From somewhere in the crowd, a bomb was thrown in front of the columns of police. When the dust settled, seven police officers were dead and sixty were injured, many of them hit by wild shots from fellow policemen. A like number of civilians were killed and injured, although the number is uncertain because few would admit to being at the rally. The police rounded up suspicious foreign workers and anarchist leaders.”
