Police assault a summer picnic of the Young People’s Swedish Socialist Club at Evanston’s Elliot Park.

‘Police Bravely Tear Up Socialist Flags’ from the Chicago Daily Socialist. Vol. 2 No. 205. June 24, 1908.

Patrolmen Swarm Down on Picnic and Rout Young Socialists

With drawn clubs a detachment of uniformed police charged a group of unoffending Swedish picnickers at Elliott park Sunday afternoon, and with savage yells pounced upon two red flags and tore them down. The picnickers fled from the grounds when the police swooped down upon them. Before the police were through with their onslaught the camping place looked as though a cyclone had struck it. The lunch lay trampled on the ground and the flags were torn into ribbons. Only the policemen remained on the scene, and they glared balefully, looking for more rampage.

Young Socialists’ Affair

The picnic was held under the auspices of the Young People’s Swedish Socialist club, and a large number had gathered around the food that had been spread on the ground, ready for consumption when the tramping of feet caused them to look around. Bearing down upon them they saw the uniformed policemen. The women screamed and jumped to their feet. The men stared in surprise, not knowing what to think. A photographer, G.S. Brandt of the Worth Photo company, who was about to take a picture of the gathering when the interference occurred, lost his camera, which was smashed.

The cause of the police charge, evidently, was two red flags which hung in nearby trees. The police bore down upon the flags with blazing eyes.

“You——! Your flag of anarchy goes down. If you don’t like this country, why in—don’t you get out of it!” These and other such epithets were hurled by Shippy’s best at the unoffending merrymakers. Some young women protested against such barbaric activity; but were answered back savagely.

Disgusted With Police

Policeman Number “3752” was especially active. The speakers taking part in the picnic expressed themselves as being disgusted with the police if the ones they saw were a fair sample. F. Malinquist, editor of Svenska Amerikanaren, was very indignant.

During the raid a package of Socialist books disappeared mysteriously. Men who wore red neckties were looked upon with suspicion and disfavor by the upholders of law and order and the protectors of life and limb.

The Chicago Socialist, sometimes daily sometimes weekly, was published from 1902 until 1912 as the paper of the Chicago Socialist Party. The roots of the paper lie with Workers Call, published from 1899 as a Socialist Labor Party publication, becoming a voice of the Springfield Social Democratic Party after splitting with De Leon in July, 1901. It became the Chicago Socialist Party paper with the SDP’s adherence and changed its name to the Chicago Socialist in March, 1902. In 1906 it became a daily and published until 1912 by Local Cook County of the Socialist Party and was edited by A.M. Simons if the International Socialist Review. A cornucopia of historical information on the Chicago workers movements lies within its pages.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/chicago-daily-socialist/1908/080624-chicagodailysocialist-v02n205.pdf