Book Reviews

The Mind and Spirit of John Peter Altgeld: Selected Writings and Addresses. Edited by Henry M. Christman. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1960. Pp. 183. $4.00.) John Peter Altgeld appeals to most Americans, who know his name as “the Eagle Forgotten” of Vachel Lindsay’s poem, as the man who sacrificed his political career to pardon the Haymarket anarchists who he thought had been unjustly imprisoned. The present volume of Altgeld’s works reveals him as a many-sided man who deserves to be remembered by history for more than that fearless pardon. Students of American political liberalism will welcome this volume, which for the first time makes Altgeld’s essays available. It includes his writings on immigration, labor, education, the currency question, law and justice, and prison management, as well as his inaugural address as governor of Illinois and a lengthy defense of his actions during the Pullman strike of 1894 when he clashed with Grover Cleveland. Altgeld’s literary style is not easy, but it presents a wealth of thought and a vigor that expresses his thoughts well. These essays reveal that Altgeld was a man of stubborn in- dependence and a champion of justice, and also that he was a hard- headed, competent, and driving lawyer and politician. The same vigor and drive that made him espouse justice and political liberalism also enabled him to achieve outstanding careers both in law and business in Illinois. The most interesting of these articles are the ones on Altgeld’s proposed reforms in the administration of justice and prisons. His demands for the abolition of legal fines, for indeterminate sentences, a probation system, vocational training for prisoners, and honor farms and minimum security systems for privileged inmates marked him well ahead of his time. That most of these have since been adopted is a tribute to his vision. Unpopular causes did not deter Altgeld; indeed, they aroused his sense of justice. A champion of the rights of labor and a believer in free silver, he sacrificed a great deal of personal popularity to espouse both causes. Ineligible for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1896 because of his foreign birth, Altgeld supported Bryan, though with some misgivings. Much of Altgeld’s constructive program for the state of Illinois was lost in the adverse publicity surrounding the Haymarket anarchists’ pardon and the Panic of 1893, and these selected writings help restore that program and Altgeld’s ideas to their rightful place. This book is not a biography or autobiography, but one could wish for a little more editing and a more detailed introduction. Nonetheless, it is well prepared. A picture of the man and his causes and crusades emerges, and it rests first and foremost on his personal integrity and sense of justice. Perhaps Altgeld himself wrote his epitaph when he said: “The world gives only when it is obliged to, and respects only those who compel its respect” (p. 110). San Jose State College H. Wayne Morgan