Page "August Spies" Paragraph 13

During the trial, the jury was allowed by the judge to consider as evidence articles written by the defendants in support of political violence, conversations about their desire for revolution, and other past materials.

On the stand, Spies confirmed he had received an 1884 letter from Johann Most, an anarchist author of a how-to pamphlet on dynamite.

Most's letter said he would send a Spies proxy 20 or 25 lbs.

of “ medicine ,” which prosecutors said was code for dynamite.

In their appeal, the defense argued that police seized the letter from Spies ’ desk without a warrant, but the appellate judge said he could not pursue the matter because defense lawyers had not objected to the letter ’ s admission during the trial.