The intense disturbances which erupted in downtown Hamilton during the Socialist Riot of Saturday, September 14, 1901took place between 8:30 and 9:30 that evening. Although many of the leaders of the riot, were stored away in the cells of No. 3 Police Station on King William street, just a few blocks away the sidewalks and roadways were filled with people. The activity in and around Gore Park, the City Hall and Market Square continued until nearly midnight when it started to rain, sending people, finally, to their homes.
The new morning, bright and early, an unusual Sunday session of Hamilton Police Court began at 9 a.m.:
The Spectator’s account of that lengthy Police Court session follows:
“Long before the police court opened, the back benches were all occupied and several hundred men and boys who were unable to gain admittance stood on the sidewalk and road in front of the police station. Lockhart M. Gordon was the first of the socialists called on. W.M. McClemont assumed that he had been engaged to defend all the Socialist prisoners. The charge read to Gordon was :
“That you did, on Sept. 14, at Hamilton, unlawfully obstruct the public highway, to wit, King street, by inducing the crowd to gather there and refusing to disperse when ordered to do so by the police, who has reason to believe that there would be a breach of the peace occasioned by such gathering.’
“In a clear voice, he answered not guilty, and Chief Smith stepped into the witness box and began to tell the story. The chief said that during the week he had been warned by more than one prominent citizen that unless the police put a stop to the Socialist meeting, they would take the law into their own hands and there would be trouble. He then went to tell about visiting the meeting on Saturday night, and, after listening for a few minutes, ordered the speaker (Gordon) to cease talking and move on.
“’What was he talking about?’ asked Crown Attorney Crerar, who conducted the prosecution.
“ ‘Socialism,’ replied the chief.
“ ‘Anarchsim you mean,’ put in Mr. Crerar.
“The chief proceeded to give a detailed account of the arrest and the trouble that followed.
“Mr. McClemont wanted to
know if these meetings had not been going on for some time, and if the
utterances Saturday night were any worse than on previous occasions, or the
crowd, any larger, but the magistrate informed him that it did not matter to
him what happened in the past, he was dealing with what happened on Saturday
night.
“ ‘They can hire a hall and
spout as long as they like as long as they don’t use words likely to cause a
breach of the peace,’ remarked the magistrate.
Actine Detective Miller and Constable Hasselfelt corroborated the story told by their chief, adding that before the meeting commenced, they heard talk of the speakers being mobbed and the stand overturned.
“Gordon went into the witness box to speak in his own defense. ‘The charge,’he said, ‘is obstructing the street. I claim as an individual that I am not big enough to obstruct the street.’
“Before he could say anything more, the magistrate stopped him, and informed him he was on the stand to give evidence and not to make a speech. ‘You can make a speech afterwards in place of your counsel want,’ said his worship.
“Gordon’s only defense was that the chief was in plain clothes and he did not know him from anyone else in the crowd.
“ ‘Had you known he was the chief, would you have moved on?’ asked the magistrate.
“ ‘No,’ replied Gordon.
“Gordon several times commenced to argue points with the crown attorney and magistrate but was nt given much chance to air his views.
“William Barrett was the only other witness for the defense. He said he drove around the crowd purposefully to hear if there were any unusual complaints.
“ ‘That satisfies me that you expected trouble,’ remarked the magistrate.
“The witness was starting out to make a speech when Mr. Crerar interrupted by remarking : ‘If that man gets underway, he’ll talk for an hour.’
“ ‘Oh, no, he won’t!’ replied Barrett, and he cut his remarks short.
“This concluded the evidence, and, in giving judgment the magistrate said that, in his opinion, the public highway should be maintained so that the public can have free access to any part of it. The police didn’t have to wait until they thought a breach of the peace was about to be committed to break up the crowd and stop the meeting. ‘It must be understood,’ he continued, ‘at all times and places, when the police order people to move on, they must obey and not stop to argue the point. If they are being wronged, they have their remedy. The only thing I can blame the police for in this case is for not stopping the meetings long ago. They might have known that such gatherings would lead to a breach of the peace being committed.’
“His worship concluded by imposing a fine of $20 or 21 days but added that of the defendants would promise not to hold any more meetings, the fines would not be collected.
“Gordon was reluctant about making any such promise.
“Fred Appleton, of London, was called on to answer to the same charge that Gordon was found guilty on. Before pleading he addressed the magistrate, stating that he was in London, the headquarters of the party yesterday, and discussed the question with the national board. The result was that he had been authorized to appeal in case the police secured a conviction. He gave notice of appeal in the Gordon case and asked that his own case and those of his comrades, Shapiro and McKenzie, be allowed to stand until the appeal is decided on the understanding that no meetings are to be held in the meantime. His request was granted.
“This seemed to satisfy every person except Gordon, who was heard remarking to his counsel , ‘I won’t undertake anything. G—d—their souls.’
“The magistrate was informed of what had been said, Mr. Crerar adding that from the notes found on Gordon, it was evident that he intended to make a most bitter attack on a prominent city clergyman.
“ ‘I was going to give them some of what they have been giving us,’ put in Gordon.
“The magistrate gave the haughty young man some good advice. ‘The only thing you can gain by your action, ‘ he said, ‘is public notoriety. If you advocate liberty against the law, the citizens will advocate the same liberty and your life will then be in danger. Don’t, therefore, resist the law, for you will find in the end that it is much stronger than you are.’
“His worship overlooked Gordon’s hasty remarks and allowed his ruling to stand.
Sympathizers Dealt With
“George McNeal, 297 Main street west, was then called on to answer to a charge of inciting the mob against the police. Constable Cruickshank said McNeal was urging those around him to take McKenzie away from the officers, and kept shouting ‘Murder the cops,’ Kill the Police’ etc. McNeal said he became excited and didn’t know what he was saying. He had no intention of bucking against the law or police. He didn’t remember making the remarks credited to him. He was severely lectured and fined $10 and costs.
“Isaac Sherwood, 76 Main street west, admitted he had done wrong in refusing to move away from the front of the police station when ordered to do so, but excused himself on the ground that he had just quit work and not knowing that there had been a riot, stopped to see what the crowd was assembled for. As he spent Saturday night in the cells, the magistrate considered that he had been sufficiently punished and allowed him to go with a warning.”2
While Magistrate Jelfs’ rulings at the Police Court brought an end to the matters which took place the night before, the efforts by Socialists to speak in other areas of the city, such as Victoria Park and Woodlands Park, continued.
The Hamilton Times in its Monday editorial comment on the Socialist Riot of the weekend, carried a message, a message which began with the editorial headline, ‘Quit It’ The editorial put the rioting in the context of the very recent assassination of United States President McKinley, and carried a very clear message to those who would promote anarchism on Hamilton city streets: “With the dead body of an Anarchist’s victim awaiting burial in the neighbouring country, the people of Hamilton are in no mood to tolerate violent language in the speeches of the agitators who seek notoriety on the streets of this city on Saturday nights. In less excited times, no positive harm may be done by Rodehouse and his band of blowhards, who talk loudly about a lot of things they do not understand and feel repaid by the applause f their hearers. But the statement of Czolgosz that President McKinley’s death is traceable to an anarchistic speech by Emma Goldman is generally credited, and, so far as Canada is concerned, that sort of business must be nipped in the bud. Prevention is better than cure. If the orators have any work to do, it behooves them to attend to it in the day-time, and rest at night; if they prefer talking to working, the Vagrancy Act will fit their case. Of one thing they may be assured – the head-centre of anarchism cannot be transferred from the United States to Canada; our people will not permit it.”
No. 3 Police Station, King William Street
(courtesy Hamilton Police Historical Society and Museum)
