Hebrasfcs State Histori
cal Society
plattemoutb
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sat p
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vol. xxxvn.
PLATTSMOUTH, lfEERASKA. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1919.
No. 29.
PANDEMONIUM REIGNED IN
OMAHA LAST NIGHT AN
ORGY OF BLOOD AND FIRE
PARTICIPATED IN BY FRENZIED THOUSANDS AS
AVENGERS STORM COURT HOUSE FOR
NEGRO ASSAILANT OF GIRL.
WITNESSED BY MANY
Who Were in the City Court
Number Injured and One
in Hands of Mob
raiiilcnv "'ilium rcinal in Omaha yesterday afternoon and in
to the wee mi mil hours of this morning as it has doubtless never
heM -way before in the history of the Nebraska metropolis. A
Journal representative was in the city anil after witnessing the
rgy of blood and tire can sav that the celebrated race riots at
Spring!k-M. Illm. -is. in KjoS. of which we are familiar, were as
child's play, compared with the thousands who stood bv urging the
howling avengers n as they .stormed the court house with bullet
and llame in the efforts to secure William Ilrown. the negro who
had been identified' as the assailant of Agnes Loebeck. a young girl
of the city who was brutally assaulted a few nights ago. At least
one while man was killed, scores were shot or beaten and store
fronts gave way before members of the infuriated mob in search
of we:in.ni. automobiles and patrol wagons were burned and the
i;;;po-ing I oi:gla county court house was gutted by incendiary fire
kindled by the mob as a demonstration against the efforts of the
pob'ce to shield the negro from lynching.
And in the end the negro, nearly dead of fright, was dragged
from his cell, his ImmIv stripjed and slashed with khives, after whicli
he was hanged to a pole and n more had the nude body been lift
ed ali've the crowd than it was pierced by innumerable bullet holes.
Mayor mith also suffered assault by the mob and is in a pre
carious condition as a result, one report received here this morning
stating that he had since died. And if not, he came powerfully
near meeting death lat night, wh.cn. with the noose about his neck
aifd h's breath coming in short gasps, some more sane member of
the mob cut the offending rope and he was saved.
The demonstration is however nothing more than an expres
sion of Omaha people again? t the 'corrupt civic administration, of
which the Omaha police force 'has held the lead for months .past.
Some twenty odd brutal assaults on women of the city have occur
red within the past two months, with only two of the guilt v ones
being apprehended. And only recently one of them, a negro, drew
a sentence of less than sixty days for his heinous crime. Little won
der then that people rose up to avenge the crime wave that has
been sweeping over the city due in part at least to the fact that
more than fifteen negro assailants were never apprehended.
The mob began congregating at
? o'clock Sunday afternoon and all
through the remainder of the after
noon and early evening continued
to grow. There was evident lack of
leadership however and not a great
deal was accomplished until under
cover of darkness individuals be
came possessed of boldness and forg
ed to the front.
In the interior of the courthouse,
the police force turned streams of
water from the fire hose into the
crowd which only further infuriated
them ind it was shortly after this
occurred that the large windows in j
the building began to crash as they
were struck by missiles in the hands
of the angry crowd.
Later in the evening gasoline and
bundles of paper were passed into
the building by people congregated
on the outside and a large bonfire
was soon blazing in the center of
the rotunda. Despite the fireproof
construction of the ccnirthouse, the
woodwork throughout the building
caught fire and flames swept from
the broken windows of all floors.
An effort of the fire department
to put out the fire was frustrated
when the fire hose was nicked In
a hundred places "oy pocket knives in
the hands of the assemblage. And
it soon became apparent that no
agency could be brought to bear to
prevent the continued destruction,
other than that of satisfying the de
mands of the mob for the brutal
rapist.
Finally the heat and smoke be
came so intense in the corridors of
the jail that the police were forced
to vacate, taking the women pris
oners with them to a place of safety
and releasing the men onto the roof
of the building. No sooner had they
been given their liberty than fellow
prisoners of the negro forced him
PLATTSMOUTH PEOPLE
House Damaged by Fin
Killed Mayor Smith
Negro Lynched.
down the stairway into the hand's
of the waiting mob on the floor be
low, and he was soon carried from
the building crazed with fear.
After the lynching the bullet
pierced body was dragged a few
blocks and publicly burned.
MAYOR SMITH; OMA
HA. IS RECOVERING
Chief Executive of Metropolis Re
covered Consciousness This
Morning It is Said.
Advices from Omaha late this aft
ernoon indicate that the city is re
covering from the reign of blood
shed and rioting that raged there
yesterday. Mayor Ed P. Smith, who
was strung up by the infuriated
mob after his attempt to prevent
the capture of Will Brown, the ne
gro rapist, has recovered conscious
ness and it is now thought that he
will recover the effects of his near
hanging. Soldiers of the regular
army from Fort Crook and Fort
Omaha are patrolling the streets of
the metropolis and machine guns
have been mounted at intersections
to prevent a further outbreak on
the part of the citizens. Feeling
against the negroes is still intense
and only the most drastic steps have
kept down the resumption of the
race riot. The city will remain un
der martial law until quiet has
been restored. The $2,000,000
court house has been almost com
pletely gutted by the fires started
by the mob seeking for Brown and
the damage will run Into several
hundred thousand dollars.-
Homecoming celebration, Oct. 4.
RECEIVES VERY
PLEASANT NEWS
Fr"m Thursday's Daily.
Mr. and Mrs. George Laniphere of
this city have received some very
pleasing news in a letter from their
son George, informing ' them that
his service in the United States
navy is terminated and that he will
soon be back in the old home to
visit the parents and brothers and
sisters. George is at present serv
ing on the U. S. S. Vermont, which
is stationed at the Mare island navy
yard at San Francisco for repairs
and he has been informed that he
will be sent on Friday to Denver
where he will be paid off and re
ceive his honorable discharge for his
service during the war. George has
been in service two years and had
a great experience during the war
on the high seas and it is needless
to say that he is mighty glad to be
able to return home. He expects to
reach this city about the first of Oc
tober and will remain here for soUle
time before deciding upon a perma
nent location. Mr. and Mrs. Lam
phere had three of their sons in the
service of their country and with
the arrival of George the last of the
J brothers will have terminated their
' service and the parents feel very
' grateful that the ordeal of war has
! spared the boys to them.
MEETING OF W. G.
T, U, ANNOUNCED
The Twenty-Eighth Annual Meeting
to be 'Held at Weeping Water on
Thursday, October 2nd.
From Thursdays Dally.
The Cass county Woman's Chris
tian Temperance Union will hold
their twenty-eighth annual meeting
at Weeping Water on Thursday, Oc
tober 2nd at the CongregationaL
church in that city and at which
time a most interesting program
will be given by the members of
the dicerent unions of the county.
The local unions of Plattsmouth,
Weeping Water, Eaglek Louisville,
Xehawka, and Union will be repre
sented at the meeting. The county
officers consisting of Mrs. M. A.
Cross, president; Mrs. Ella Wiles,
vice-president; Mrs. Mary S. Har
mon, secretary; Mrs. Irene McFall,
treasurer, will present their reports
at this meeting covering Mie work
of the organization for the past year
and a large attendance of the mem
bers of the organization is desired.
- The program for the meeting is
as follows:
Morning Session. 9:30 A. M.
Music.
Scripture Reading Mrs. Oella
Kirkpatrick.
Prayer Congregational Pastor.
Greeting Mrs. Dr. Reed.
Response Mrs. Ella Wiles.
Roll Call of County Officers and
Delegates. (Delegates standing.)
Appointment of committee on res
olutions, nominating.
Reports of county officers, local
unions, nominating committee.
Election of officers.
Apointment of delegates to state
convention.
N"oon-tide prayer.
Afternoon Session 1 :30 P. M.
Music.
Prayer Mrs. A. Z. Bener.
Scripture Lesson Mrs. Cora
Thomas.
Jubilee fund report Mrs. Dr.
Kruse.
"The Cigarette Curse and Its
Remedy" Mrs. Mamie Claflin.
"What Prohibition Has Accom
plished in Nebraska" Mr. A. A.
Hyers.
Question Box.
Report of resolution committee.
Music,
Benediction Rer. Haskins.
DEPARTS FOE MISSOURI.
From ?rlHav Pnflv
Last evening M. S. Briggs, of the
Journal accompanied by Allen Land
and Martin Nelson departed over
the Missouri Pacific for Missouri
where they will spend a few days
looking over the land In the Ticin
ity of Windsor, Missouri. This
place is in the southern portion of
that state and is a very fertile por
tion of the "show me" state. Mr.
Briggs already has a very fine farm
in that section of the state and the
other gentlemen, will look the situa
tion over with a view of locating
there.
THE PARADE
PROMISES TO
BE A FEATURE
OF HOMECOMING ENTERTAIN
MENT WELL WORTH SEE
ING 500 SOLDIERS.
LINE DF MARCH TO BE SHORT
But Will Give Relatives and Friends
Opportunity to View Dough
boys and Cobs.
From Thursday s Daily.j
The . homecoming celebration
being held primarily for Cass
county service men. it is not the
intent of the committee to im
pose upon them the task of tak
ing part in a long drawn-out
parade. However the friends of
ex-service men would be pleas
ed to see them in a short, snap
py line of march, extending over
some half dozen city blocks
and we believe the boys will
not disappoint them. The time
elapsing between "Fall in" and
"Fall out" commands will be no
longer than that usually requir
' ed to obtain a proper "Right
dress" under a crabby shave-tail
in one of the cantonments.
The parade committee of the home
coming celebration is busy getting
the plans arranged for making the
parade on the big dr.y one of the
finest of its kind ever seen in the
city, and they will lea'.-iiot.hg un
done to make it a grand success as
far as lays within their power.
The committee in its work is de
pendent largely upon the hearty co
operation of all the service men cf
the county, who they cordially invite
to participate in the short, snappy
parade and to appear in the uniform.-:
they have worn so gallantly during
he late war!
With the proper turnout or the
service men the parade can be made
one of the greatest ever seen in this
county for many years. It is ex
pected to form the parade in column
of squads and to move through the
business section of the city shortly
after the noon hour.
The expected appearance of the
ex-soldiers, sailors and Red Cross
nurses has created a great interest
among the citizens of the commun-
ty.'who have set aside this day to
pay honor to the returned service ;
men and women, and they are eager
o greet them as an organization.
The use of the uniform will also
facilitate the work of the other com
mittees in providing the admission
o the different attractions and en
tertainments and to the big dinner
as everything will be free to the
service men of any branch of Uncle
Sam's service and the uniform is the
icket for the day.
HUGE PLATFORM
FOR THE DANCERS
Fl
oor 70x70 Will be Erected at In
tersection of Main and
Fourth Streets.
From Thursday's Dally.
Lovers of dancing will have op
portunity to' trip the light fantastic
to their heart's desire on homecom
ing day. The committee has arrang
ed for the erection of a huge plat
form 70x70, to occupy the intersec
tion of Main and Fourth streets anl
extend clear over the sidewalks. A
sixteen piece orchestra, assisted by
singing entertainers will have a
place on the center of the platform,
surrounded by the dancers. All e?r-
service men will be allowed to dance
absolutely free, while a minimum
charge will be collected from others
in order to keep the large floor from
being constantly crowded beyong ca
pacity as would be the case if every
one were permitted to dance free of
charge.
POLAND CHINA PIGS.
Pure bred Poland China boar
pigs for sale. C. L. Mayabb, Platts
mouth, Neb.
HEAVY RAIN
STORM VISITS
THIS SECTION
MAIN STREET TURNED INTO A
ROARING RIVER SATUR
LAY EVENING.
FLCOO IN CITY WAS AVERTED
Only by Dished Arrangement of
Main Street Pavement Ter
rific Downpour. .
From Monday's Dally.
Commencing Saturday night at 8
o'clock with a slight drizzle, a rain
storm that was one of the heaviest
in this locality for many months
visited Plattsmouth and vicinity.
The storm grew in intensity until
about 11 o'clock when the rain fell
for almost two hours in heavy tor
rents. A3 the surface water from
the large areas drained by the
creeks along' Chicago and Washing
ton avenue, swept down into the
creeks these dried up streams be
came raging torrents that swept on
toward the main portion of the city
and reaching the storm sewers com
pletely filled thee outlets and the
surplus volume of water overflowed
into the streets and avenues. At
Washington avenue he flood swept
from just above the O. K. Garage
across to the German Home and
then added its force to the body of
water sweeping down the avenue. As
the stream swept into Sixth street
it lapped over the curbing on the
uast r' le the intersection nt Yin
and Sixth streets and left in its
wake much mud and debris. The
water threatened for a short time
tr do some damage to the Kroehler
Brothers store but the work of Loui
Kroehler in blocking up the doors
at the rear of the store checked the
entry of the water. It overflowed
the curb at the Sixth and Main
street corner for a short time and
automobiles parked in the center of
Main street were almost carried
away by the force of the stream
which was augmented by the flood
water coming down from South
Sixth street and Chicago avenue.
On Chicago avenue the water was
quite deep, but did little damage al
though the cellar in the residence
of John Kinser was filled by the
water and it added its stream to the
large volume flowing, down Main
street. A large number of autos
which had been left in the center of
the streets were damaged somewhat
by the flood sweeping into the body
of the .cars and putting the ignition
systems out of commission and made
it necessary for a number of persons
from the country districts remain
ing in the city. The flood water at
the Burlington shops did some dam
age in the freight car repair depart
ment by washing out a small section
of track but nothing of a very ser
ious nature was caused by the flood
there.
West of th- city the rain was
equally heavy and the Four Mile
Creek was swollen and overflowed
in a number of p't'ees linking travel
very dangerous ovor the bridges.
It is fortunate that tl.e storm did
as little daman'1 as it did as the raii
came down in torr?nt- and but for
;he fact that :h: struts had con
prepared to cany .a large volume cf
water a serious flood would have re
n Hed.
VISITS UNCLE HERE.
John Blackhurst of Lincoln was
a visitor over Sunday in his city at
the heme of his uncle. Attorney D.
O. Dwyer and family, prior to his
departure for Montana where he
will prove up on his homestead that
he has in that state. Mr. Black
hurst was for a short time a resi
dent of this city where he studied
law in the office of his uncle but lat
er laid aside his studies to enter the
army and was a member of the 5th
engineers and served with them in
France. On his return to the Unit
ed States he was placed in th-e em
plov of the state engineer of Ne
braska and has been making some
surveys on the state roads. Mr.
Blackhurst has filed on a homestead
under the soldiers land act and will
remain in Montana until the same is
proven up and turned over to him.
AUTOS HAVE SMALL SMASH UP
From Thursday's Daily.
Late yesterday afternoon a small
automobile wreck occurred on
Washington avenue just about a
block west of the O. K. Garage when
the Ford car of Floyd Richardson
bumped into the car of W. H. Sey
bert, which was standing Ln the
L avenue near the Ninth street cross
ing. From what can be learned of
the mix up it seems that both cars
were traveling west on the avenue
and had passed the garage when
the car cf Mr. Seybert stopped sud
denly to allow a companion of Mr.
Seybert to alight at the Ninth street
crossing pnd the distance being very
slight between the cars it was im
possible for Mr. Richardson to check
the speed of his car enough to pre
vent the collision between the two
machines. The Ford of Mr. Rich
ardson had the headlights smashed
and the radiator badly jimmed up
as the result of the mix up while
the heavier car of Mr. Seybert did
not suffer any great damage aside
from having the tail light smashed.
Mr. Richardson states that the car
of Mr. Seybert was stopped very
suddenly without any warning and
made it impossible to avoid the mix
up as the Seybert car did not swing
over to the curb but was stopped in
the center of the avenue along the
main line of the traffic.
HORACE RUFFNER
A VISITOR HERE
Spends Sunday in the City with Old
Time Friends After Service
Overseas with A. E. F.
From Monday's Daily.
Yesterday morning Horace B.
Ruffner, a former Plattsmouth boy,
and son of Mr. P. E. Ruffner, of
Omaha, came-lown to spend the "day
visiting here with his old ' time
friends. Mr. Ruffner was in the
ordnance department of the army
and was for several months with
the army of occupation being detail
ed to assist in the care and supply
ing of the ordnance property of the
American forces along the Rhine.
Mr. Rufi'ner was sent to France in
the summer of 191 S and during his
stay there has had a varied exper
ience and since the signing of the
armistice has been able to see a
great deal of the country of the old
world having traveled quite exten
sively in France, Germany and Bel
gium. The many friends of Mr.
Ruffner were very much pleased to
ee him once more and to know that
he had returned . safe and sound
from-his sojourn overseas.
ARRIVAL OF A FINE SON.
From Mnnday'c Dally.
The home of Captain and Mrs.
Harrison Gayer, south of the city in
the Rock Bluff locality has been
matii very happy by the advent of
i fine son and heir who on his ar
rival tipped the scales at nine
pounds and it is needless to say that
the occasion has been one of much
pleasure to the parents. The moth
er and little one are doing nicely
and the captain is very proud of the
new recruit ,that has been added to
his company.
Read the Journal for all the news.
A No-Risk
7Z TT-W 57" "it TCI
Our solid, safe old Certificates of Deposit are a "good
buy" and a standby.
As dependable as this bank behind them, they earn a
legitimate 4 interest with the principal always safe, always
here at work.
The First National Bank recommends its Certificates of
Deposit as a secure place for farmer's fall funds.
The First National Bank,
Plattsmouth, Nebraska
"The Bank where You Feel at Home"
EX
FERIENCE
WITH NEGROES
IS RECALLED
PLATTSMOUTH ONCE HAD COL- '
ONY OF COLORED FOLKS
RACK IN NINTIES.
LEFT WITHOUT BLOODSHED
Although Many of Them Were Giv
en a Eath from Fire Hose in
Hands of the Firemen.
From Monday's Daily.
The outbreak cf the race Hot in
Omaha yesterday recalls to the older
residents of the city the memory of
the way in which this city was
cleared of a number of negro fam
ilies who once infested the city. This
was way back in 1S94 when the
black belt was wiped out and in a
bloodless manner altho it brought a
number of the negroes into close re
lationship with a bath. At that
time a colony of negroes were lo
cated in a frame house at the corner
of Sixth and Vine streets where the
Stteight store is now located and
from the stories of the old timers
the place had a very unsavory repu
tation and several times white peo
ple passing by were made insulting
remarks to by the inhabitants of the
place. The negroes numbered close
to fifty or sixty in the city at that
time and besides this place occupied
residences in different parts of town
and also maintained a colored church
on high school hill. The long suff
ering people stood the matter as long
as they could and it was then agreed
at a council of a large number of
citizens that it was time the blacks
hit the trail for somewhere else. The.
fire department and the public were
organized and one night a small
quantity of oil was poured on the
building at 6th and Vine streets,
the match applied and hardly had
the flames started than the fire 1k11
gave the alarm and the work of
purging the- city of the black pests
was on. The fire was soon exting
uished but the work of extinguish-,
ing the blacks continued and as
they rushed out of the place they
were made the target for the streams
of water and in a short time their
habitation was a wreck. The other
colored residences were visited and
Cleaned up and. the next morning
the colored portion of the city de
parted, never to return. The only
black that was not compelled to
move was old Uncle Ned Baker and
he continued to live here until his
death but the rest of the negroes
have kept shy of this city since and
it is well they do so.
HORSES FOR SALE.
Team geldings 4 and 0 years old,
wt. 2S60 lbs. sound.
Team mares 5 and 7 years old, wt.
2400 lbs. sound. A. O. AULT,
29-4tw Cedar Creek, Ncbr.
We print everything but money
and butter. Let us serve you.
Investment!
m