As Czolgosz Died

     “It was my act; I did it myself.” These words were spoken by Leon F. Czolgosz shortly after the assassination of the President. After his conviction he was told that he must die for his crime, to which he carelessly replied: “I took all that into consideration before I fired the shots.”
     Czolgosz is dead. The law has avenged the murder of William McKinley. The terrible act of assassination was conceived by Czolgosz. He studied the consequences of his act and he was willing to accept the penalty even as it has been meted out to him.
     But the death of William McKinley is not entirely the voluntary act of the desperate assassin who was electrocuted this morning. Emma Goldman bears a share of the crime; so do the publishers of anarchist papers and documents. The men who lecture in favor of anarchism share the crime of Czolgosz. The New York conclaves, the Chicago societies, the Cleveland clubs, the anarchists in Boston, Philadelphia and other places—they all bear a share in the great crime. They aided and stimulated the weak-minded Czolgosz. He was anxious to show his devotion to anarchy and its principles, and he followed the teachings of those subtle anarchists who preach assassination, and point the way to its commission, but are careful to avoid the act—the spilling of blood—and depend on the rashness of those who drink the poison of anarchy to die as Czolgosz has died this morning.
     Czolgosz is dead. The others will be punished in good time.