Don't Quote Me by GJ

Got to thinking about something called "The Haymarket Riots." (Don't ask why.) That incident in 1886 (when my Dad was 4 years old!) was a world-wide event. Eleven people were killed, four workers and seven police. Eight workers branded anarchists were executed, but Governor John Peter Altgeld commuted (or pardoned?) several others. The workers were on strike in a neighborhood called Haymarket, demanding an 8-hour day for their labor.

Because of his decision, Altgeld was terribly demeaned and defeated for his next term, even though it was a fact that he studied documents and pondered his decision greatly. He knew that his act would most probably cost him the election, but he felt honor-bound by the evidence, feeling that eight executions were already too many. (Nobody knows who fired the first shot!)

The most damaging claim against him was the totally false accusation that he had designs on the White House, when in reality he was ineligible, having been born abroad. Do not quote me on these beliefs of mine...I never claimed to be an historian...it's the best I can do. The pertinent facts certainly mark Altgeld as an altruist, no matter how you look at it. (Not many of those run for office in our times, do they?)

It might be of some interest, that a lot of the Illinois state colleges and universities have one building that was erected during his term(s?) and named "Altgeld Halls." (One is at Eastern Illinois U., Charleston.")