Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist

268 Pages·2014·0.9 MB·English

Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist
Alexander Berkman
1912
Contents
PartI 8
Chapter1.TheCalloftheHomestead 9
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter2.TheSeatofWar 19
Chapter3.TheSpiritofPittsburgh 22
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter4.TheAttentat 25
Chapter5.TheThirdDegree 26
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter6.TheJail 30
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
XI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
XIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Chapter7:TheTrial 51
2
PartII 53
Chapter1.DesperateThoughts 54
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter2.TheWilltoLive 62
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Chapter3.SpectralSilence 66
Chapter4.ARayofLight 68
Chapter5.TheShop 70
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter6.MyFirstLetter 74
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter7.Wingie 77
Chapter8.TotheGirl 81
Chapter9.Persection 84
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter10.TheYegg 88
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter11:TheRouteSubRosa 96
Chapter12.Zuchthausblothen 98
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Chapter13:TheJudas 103
Chapter14.TheDip 108
3
Chapter15.TheUrgeofSex 111
Chapter16.TheWarden’sThreat 115
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Chapter17.The“Basket”Cell 120
Chapter18.TheSolitary 121
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Chapter19.Memory—Guests 127
Chapter20.ADayintheCell-House 131
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter21.TheDeedsoftheGoodtotheEvil 143
Chapter22.TheGristofthePrison-Mill 146
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter23.TheScalesofJustice 154
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Chapter24.ThoughtsThatStoleOutofPrison 159
Chapter25.HowShalltheDepthsCry? 161
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
4
Chapter26.HidingtheEvidence 166
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Chapter27.Love’sDungeonFlower 170
Chapter28.ForSafety 176
Chapter29.DreamsofFreedom 177
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Chapter30.WhitewashedAgain 181
Chapter31.“AndByAllForgot,WeRotandRot” 184
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Chapter32.TheDeviousnessofReformLawApplied 189
Chapter33.TheTunnel 191
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chapter34.TheDeathofDick 195
Chapter35.AnAlliancewiththeBirds 196
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Chapter36.TheUnderground 201
Chapter37.AnxiousDays 206
Chapter38.“HowMenTheirBrothersMaim” 210
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Chapter39.ANewPlanofEscape 213
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Chapter40.DonetoDeath 216
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
5
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Chapter41.THeShockatBuffalo 220
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Chapter42.MarredLives 226
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Chapter43.“PassingtheLoveofaWoman” 232
Chapter44.Love’sDaring 237
Chapter45.TheBloomof“TheBarrenStaff” 240
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Chapter46.AChild’sHeart-Hunger 243
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter47.Chum 245
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Chapter48.LastDays 250
PartIII 254
Chapter1.TheWorkhouse 255
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
PartIV 259
Chapter1.TheResurrection 260
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
6
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
V. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
XI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
7
Part I
Chapter 1. The Call of the Homestead
I
Clearly every detail of that day is engraved on my mind. It is the sixth of July, 1892. We are
quietly sitting in the back of our little flat — Fedya and I — when suddenly the Girl enters. Her
naturally quick, energetic step sounds more than usually resolute. As I turn to her, I am struck
bythepeculiargleaminhereyesandtheheightenedcolor.
“Haveyoureadit?”shecries,wavingthehalf-opennewspaper.
“Whatisit?”
“Homestead.Strikersshot.Pinkertonshavekilledwomenandchildren.”
She speaks in a quick, jerky manner. Her words ring like the cry of a wounded animal, the
melodiousvoicetingedwiththeharshnessofbitterness—thebitternessofhelplessagony.
Itakethepaperfromherhands.IngrowingexcitementIreadthevividaccountofthetremen-
dous struggle, the Homestead strike, or, more correctly, the lockout. The report details the con-
spiracyonthepartoftheCarnegieCompanytocrushtheAmalgamatedAssociationofIronand
Steel Workers;the selection,for thepurpose,ofHenry ClayFrick, whoseattitudetowardlabor
isimplacablyhostile;hissecretmilitarypreparationswhiledesignedlyprolongingthepeacene-
gotiationswiththeAmalgamated;thefortificationoftheHomesteadsteelworks;theerectionof
a high board fence, capped by barbed wire and provided with loopholes for sharpshooters; the
hiring of an army of Pinkerton thugs; the attempt to smuggle them, in the dead of night, into
Homestead;and,finally,theterriblecarnage.
I pass the paper to Fedya. The Girl glances at me. We sit in silence, each busy with his own
thoughts.Onlynowandthenweexchangeaword,asearching,significantlook.
II
Itishotandstuffyinthetrain.Theairisoppressivewithtobaccosmoke;theboisteroustalkof
themenplayingcardsnearbyannoysme.Iturntothewindow.Thegustofperfumedair,laden
withthericharomaoffresh-mownhay,issoothinglyinvigorating.Greenwoodsandyellowfields
circle in the distance, whirl nearer, close, then rush by, giving place to other circling fields and
woods. The country looks young and alluring in the early morning sunshine. But my thoughts
arebusywithHomestead.
The great battle has been fought. Never before, in all its history, has American labor won
suchasignalvictory.ByforceofarmstheworkersofHomesteadhavecompelledthreehundred
Pinkerton invaders to surrender, to surrender most humbly, ignominiously. What humiliating
defeat for the powers that be! Does not the Pinkerton janizary represent organized authority,
forevercrushingthetoilerintheinterestoftheexploiters?WellmaytheenemiesofthePeople
beterrifiedattheunexpectedawakening.ButthePeople,theworkersofAmerica,havejoyously
9
acclaimedtherebelliousmanhoodofHomestead.Thesteel-workerswerenottheaggressors.Re-
signedly they had toiled and suffered. out of their flesh and bone grew the great steel industry;
on their blood fattened the powerful Carnegie Company. Yet patiently they had waited for the
promised greater share of the wealth they were creating. Like a bolt from a clear sky came the
blow:wagesweretobereduced!Peremptorilythesteelmagnatesrefusedtocontinuethesliding
scalepreviouslyagreeduponasaguaranteeofpeace.TheCarnegiefirmchallengedtheAmalga-
matedAssociationbythesubmissionofconditionswhichitknewtheworkerscouldnotaccept.
Foreseeingrefusal,itflauntedwarlikepreparationstocrushtheunionundertheironheel.Per-
fidious Carnegie shrank from the task, having recently proclaimed the gospel of good will and
harmony.“Iwouldlayitdownasamaxim,”hehaddeclared,“thatthereisnoexcuseforastrike
or a lockout until arbitration of differences has been offered by one party and refused by the
other.Therightoftheworkingmentocombineandtoformtrades-unionsisnolesssacredthan
the right of the manufacturer to enter into association and conference with his fellows, and it
mustsoonerorlaterbeconceded.Manufacturersshouldmeettheirmenmorethanhalf-way.”
With smooth words the great philanthropist had persuaded the workers to endorse the high
tariff. Every product of his mills protected, Andrew Carnegie secured a reduction in the duty
on steel billets, in return for his generous contribution to the Republican campaign fund. In
complete control of the billet market, the Carnegie firm engineered a depression of prices, as
a seeming consequence of a lower duty. But the market price of billets was the sole standard
of wages in the Homestead mills. The wages of the workers must be reduced! The offer of the
AmalgamatedAssociationtoarbitratethenewscalemetwithcontemptuousrefusal:therewas
nothing to arbitrate; the men must submit unconditionally; the union was to be exterminated.
AndCarnegieselectedHenryC.Frick,thebloodyFrickofthecokeregions,tocarrytheprogram
intoexecution.
Musttheoppressedforeversubmit?ThemanhoodofHomesteadrebelled:themillmenscorned
thedespoticultimatum.ThenFrick’shandfell.Thewarwason!Indignationsweptthecountry.
Throughout the land the tyrannical attitude of the Carnegie Company was bitterly denounced,
theruthlessbrutalityofFrickuniversallyexecrated.
I could no longer remain indifferent. The moment was urgent. The toilers of Homestead had
defied the oppressor. They were awakening. But as yet the steel-workers were only blindly re-
bellious. The vision of Anarchism alone could imbue discontent with conscious revolutionary
purpose; it alone could lend wings to the aspirations of labor. The dissemination of our ideas
amongtheproletariatofHomesteadwouldilluminethegreatstruggle,helptoclarifytheissues,
andpointthewaytocompleteultimateemancipation.
Mydayswerefeverishwithanxiety.Thestirringcall,“Labor,Awaken!”wouldfiretheheartsof
thedisinherited,andinspirethemtonobledeeds.Itwouldcarrytotheoppressedthemessageof
theNewDay,andpreparethemfortheapproachingSocialRevolution.Homesteadmightprove
the first blush of the glorious Dawn. How I chafed at the obstacles my project encountered!
Unexpecteddifficultiesimpededeverystep.Theeffortstogettheleaflettranslatedintopopular
English proved unavailing. It would endanger me to distribute such a fiery appeal, my friend
remonstrated.ImpatientlyIwaivedasidehisobjections.Asifpersonalconsiderationscouldfor
an instant be weighed in the scale of the great Cause! But in vain I argued and pleaded. And
allthewhilepreciousmomentswerebeingwasted,andnewobstaclesbarredtheway.Irushed
franticallyfromprintertocompositor,begging,imploring.Nonedaredprinttheappeal.Andtime
wasfleeting.SuddenlyflashedthenewsofthePinkertoncarnage.Theworldstoodaghast.
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