Labors Martyrs | Page 2

and Sacco and Vanzetti, must be made more than ever the
inspiration of the proletarian youth. We must indeed realize in life the
noble last words of Spies, spoken as he stood on the gallows with the
hangman's noose around his neck:
"There will come a time when our silence will be more powerful than
the voices you are strangling today."

Labor's Martyrs
By Vito Marcantonio President, International Labor Defense
"These are my ideas. They constitute a part of myself. I cannot divest
myself of them, nor would I if I could. And if you think that one can
crush out these ideas that are gaining ground more and more every day;
if you think you can crush them out by sending us to the gallows; if you
would once more have people suffer the penalty of death because they
have dared to tell the truth--and I defy you to show that we have told a
lie--if death is the penalty for proclaiming the truth, then I will proudly
and defiantly pay the costly price."--(August Spies, just before he was
sentenced to death on October 9, 1886.)
The man who spoke these words had no illusions. He knew that the
court he was facing was a hostile court, an enemy court, a court
determined to stamp out all that he stood for and believed in. He knew,
also, that the truth of which he spoke was much bigger than the little
man who sat in a black gown waiting for him to finish so that he could
pronounce the brutal words that would mean his death on the gallows.
He knew that the movement he represented was bigger than the forces
which were trying to crush it and that it would survive.
Survive it did--to become one of the most powerful factors on the

American scene today, one of the most vital factors in the extension
and preservation of democracy and the rights for which he laid down
his life.
And why should we venerate the memory of this man and the other
victims of the Haymarket tragedy? Not simply because they were brave
men. Not simply because they had the courage of their convictions and
did not weaken in the face of death. But because their fight is still
going on today, strengthened by their magnificent pioneer work,
because of the foundation they helped lay for the American labor
movement of the present day.
Back in 1886, that movement was still almost in its infancy. Noble
attempts to build it had been made in the days of our Revolutionary
forefathers. But all they did was to lay the groundwork, to drive in the
first piles on which the rest of the structure could be built. The man of
the early 'eighties of the last century began the actual construction.
One of the main issues around which they rallied the working people of
this country was the fight for the eight-hour day. Albert Parsons, only
36 when he was executed, had spent more than ten years actively
organizing American workers. He was a printer, a member of the
powerful International Typographical Union which even in those days
had over 60,000 members. He was a member of the Knights of Labor,
the first great trade union center in American history. He was one of the
outstanding spokesmen of the eight-hour day. An able orator, he toured
the United States, soap-boxing, lecturing and recruiting supporters for
the movement.
By his side was August Spies, a German worker from the metal trades
industry, who carried the fight to the Central Trades Body of Chicago
to which he was a delegate. Around them were many others: Adolph
Fischer, George Engel who came to America as so many of our
immigrant forefathers did because he believed "he would live a free
man, in a free country." Oscar Neebe, Samuel Fielden, Michael
Schwab and young Louis Lingg, only twenty-three at the time of his
death.

Their efforts bore fruit. The movement for the eight-hour day gained
momentum. Union after union discussed the problem and went on
record in favor of fighting for it, until finally the slogan became:
General Strike for the eight-hour day. The date set was May 1, 1886, a
day that has now become the international fighting holiday of labor.
In Chicago, the May Day strike was a great success. Those who
remember it and took part in it tell us that thousands of workers filled
the streets. Some paraded, others gave out handbills, others went in
committees from factory to factory calling the workers out on strike.
Despite all the efforts of a hostile press to whip up hatred for the
workers, to alienate the middle class, to spread the fear of disorder and
raise the bogey of revolution (much as Mayor Shields