The Bomb | Page 3

more than anything else. When
she came from church, the first thing she asked for was about a letter or
card from you, but we had to be contented with the thought that
perhaps you did not remember us. Now it is all past...
I was very much troubled that it has taken so long (to procure the
certificate), but I could not help it. Everything is all right, and we are
all well and working. I hope to hear the same from you. It would not be
so bad if you wrote oftener. I have had to do a great many things for
you the last eighteen years, but with a mother you can do as you
please--neglect her and never answer her letters.

"The certificate sent him read as follows:
CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH
No. 9,681.
Ludwig Link, legitimate son of Philipp Friedrich Link and of Regina
Von Hoefler, was born at Schwetzingen, on the ninth (9th) day of
September, 1864. This is certified according to the records of the
Evangelical Congregation of Schwetzingen.
SCHWETZINGEN, May 24, 1884.
(Seal.)
County Court: CLURIGHT.

"One thing appears from the above, and that is that at home Louis'
name was Link. Other documents, some of them legal, also found in his
trunk, show that his name was formerly written Link. He must have
changed it shortly before leaving Europe or just after reaching the
United States. The thought of his illegitimacy (according to the police
report) helped to make him in religion a free-thinker, in theory a
freelover, and in practice an implacable enemy of existing society. His
mother's letters show that she wished him to be a good man, and it was
no fault of her early training that he subsequently became an Anarchist.
"No sooner had Lingg reached Chicago than he looked up the haunts of
Socialists and Anarchists . . . Lingg arrived here only eight or nine
months before the eventful 4th of May, but in that short time he
succeeded in making himself the most popular man in Anarchist circles.
No one had created such a furore since 1872, when Socialism had its
inception in the city.
"Lingg had not been connected with the organization long before he
became a recognized leader and made speeches that enthused all the
comrades. While young in years, they recognized in him a worthy

leader, and the fact that he had sat at the feet of Reinsdorf as a pupil
elevated him in their estimation. This distinction, added to his personal
magnetism, made him the subject for praise and comment . . .
"His work was never finished, and never neglected. At one time he
taught his followers how to handle the bombs so that they would not
explode in their hands, and showed the time and distance for throwing
the missiles with deadly effect; at another he drilled those who were to
do the throwing . . . He was not alone a bomb-maker; he also
constituted himself an agent to sell arms. This is shown by a note found
in his trunk addressed to Abraham Hermann. It reads as follows:

Friend:--I sold three revolvers during the last two days, and I will sell
three more to-day (Wednesday). I sell them from $6.00 to $7.80 apiece.
Respectfully and best regards,
L. LINGG

"In truth, he was the shiftiest as well as the most dangerous Anarchist
in all Chicago.
"The Haymarket riot proved a most bitter disappointment. Lingg was
fairly beside himself with chagrin and mortification. The one
consuming desire of his life had utterly and signally failed of
realization."
[Here occurs the police account of his arrest which I have reproduced
in The Bomb. I now continue it]:
"During the time Lingg remained at the station his wounded thumb was
regularly attended to; he was treated very kindly, had plenty to eat, and
was made as comfortable as possible.
"One day I asked him if he entertained any hostility towards the police.

He replied that during the McCormick factory riot he had been clubbed
by an officer, but he did not care much for that. He could forget it all,
but he did not like Bonfield. He would kill Bonfield, willingly, he
declared.
"Lingg was a singular Anarchist. Though he drank beer, he never drank
to excess, and he frowned upon the use of bad or indecent language. He
was an admirer of the fair sex, and they reciprocated his admiration, his
manly form, handsome face, and pleasing manners captivating all.
"There was one visitor he always welcomed. It was his sweetheart, who
became a regular caller. She invariably wore a pleasant smile, breathed
soft, loving words into his ears through the wire screen that separated
the visitor's cage from the jail corridor, and contributed much toward
keeping him cheerful.