ite bomb thrown
among a force of policemen killed one and wounded many. Fire was at
once opened on both sides, and, although the battle lasted only a few
minutes, seven policemen were killed and about sixty wounded; while
on the side of the anarchists, four were killed and about fifty were
wounded. 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. From
this time on, Socialist views spread among college students, artists,
and men of letters, and the academic Socialist became a familiar figure
in American society.

Probably more significant than the Socialist movement, as an indication
of the popular demand for radical reform in the government of the
country, was the New York campaign of Henry George in 1886. He was a San
Francisco printer and journalist when he published the work on "Progress
and Poverty" which made him famous. Upon the petition of over thirty
thousand citizen