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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1908)
n By R Ki L ? 3 jFivc Persons Killed , Many Injured , and Stores Wrecked Mob Lynches Two Blacks. QUARTER IS BTTREED. \fter Destroying"white Ecstaurant Houses of Blacks Are ITircd by the Crowd. eM correspondence : Riot , arson and ski lighter held pos- jscssion of the black celt and levee of Springfield. III. , all through Friday , -uighL Two men were killed , nearly 100 wounded. Hie streets were full of , .inilia ! , and rioters set fire to negro houses in all paris of tbe black belt. The fire department was intimidated sand overawed by the rioters , and until -the arrival of 3,000 additional State soldiers the authorities wore practically helpless to control tbe situation. Mob Kalkcd by 3Ju.sc. All this turmoil grows out of an at tempt to lynch a negro who had at- iacked a white woman. Tbe negro was rspirifed out of town , and tbe mob , balked in its vengeance , immedialely turned on tbe man who loaned his auto- . -znobilo to tbe authorities to enable them to convey the negro to a place of safo- ty. This was tbe spark that started -ihe riot. Special trains were hurried from De- -calur , Jacksonville , P.loomington , Peoria - -oria , and half a dozen other towns. bearing infantry , cavalry and artillery. Early in the state of riot : > ' . ! the sa loons and disorderly bouses .11 tbe city were closed by the Mayor. : nd the mili tiamen did their best to prevent the col lecting of any crowds 5n the'streets. ' " Their efforts were futile , however. They would disperse a crowd in one neigh borhood , and it immediately reassem bled in another. When at 2 a. in. the burning of negro .houses commenced tbe negroes retali ated by shooting from tbe upper stories -5 > f the bouses in the neighborhood where the torch waj applied. A number of rpcrsons were bit during these fusillades IN SPRING-HELD. \ KSvi i J F 35H- > ' . - } = ' - : A . . rfsi63s fcs'a ? . , - . ; -j- - - : : " . $ $ * ' ' K ; -J - - i y Jsi- ' Vr-Jj'-Vl S | | I . , 1 , < ! j j -Chicago Tribune. . -and were carried away by their friends xjfore their identity was discovered. Origin of the Trouble. The inciting cause of the trouble was .an assault made on Friday on Mrs. Earl Ilallam , wife of a street car con- -ductor. Mrs. Ilallam. whose husband works at night , was pulled from her bed at midnight by a negro , who then dragged her into a garden in tbe rear -of the house , where he assaulted her. This wns tbe last straw on tbe minds of the whites of the city , the hatred .against tbe blacks having been smolder- .ing since a month ago. when Clergy A. Bailard was slain in his home by a .negr < . who. it is said , bad entered tbe Ballard home in an attempt to assault Mr. P.allard's young daughter. George Richardson , a negro , was ar rested for the assault upon Mrs. Ilal- 2am and placed in tbe city jail with .Joseph James , who was accused of the IBallard murder. Mutterings of mob violence began soon after the Richardson identification by the woman , and a great crowd col lected about the jail. After Ricbard- . son bad been identified by Mrs. Ilallam -the crowds gre\\- even more violent , and it was decided to take the prisoner out .of town. Sheriff Charles Werner made ar rangements to take the men to Bloomington - ington and tbe attention of the crowd . around tbe jail was distracted by an -alarm of fire while the men were placed in Harry T. Loper's automobile and jwhisked away to the railroad station the fair grounds , where a traiu x ctoppetl to let the sheriff's men and their prisoners get on board. ' As soon as this was known the mob began to gather , bowling for vengeance against the man wh'o bad assisted in ilie escape of their prej' . Tbe cry , "Come on to Loper's , " was raised , and a few minutes later bricks were crash ing through tbe windows. Leper met tbe mob with a rifle. They paid no heed to him , and ho was forced into the back part of tbe building , where he was compelled to witness the complete de struction of his property. Tbe restaurant was tbe largest in tbe city , and had a largp trade. Within an hour it was a complete wreck. All of the furniture was taken out and piled on top of the automobile , which bad been turned over on the street , and llien a match was applied to the gaso line tank. Tbe bonfire raged until mid night. The police were utterly power less to cope with the mob and the fire department , which had been called out , was not allowed to extinguish the flames. During tbe attack an attempt was made to do bodily barm to Mayor Reece. At 30 o'clock Ivouis Johnson , a 19- year-old boy , was found dead in a rear stairway leading to the basement of a downtown building. He bad been shot through the groin. At the time tbe riot began Eugene W. Chaiin , the Prohibition candidate for President , was addressing a meet ing in tbe courthouse yard. A negro pursued by a mob came dashing up the platform , and in endeavoring to protect the man from his pursuers the orator was struck in the face with a brick and badly injured. GRAND JURY BEGINS TASK. I nves ( i raiio it of Ontrnse * at Spring field Se itiel to Di.sliirbniices. Springfield Monday entered upon the investigation of outrages and the arrest of accused men. A special grand jury \vas summoned by Judge James A. Creigh- ton of the Sangamon County Circuit Court as the result of a conference be- tu-piMi Governor Deneen and State's At torney Frank Hatch. A large amount of evidence , implicating many citizens , was obtained during the rioting , and this will bo submitted. Suspects were arrested each day during the reign of terror , and will be 'held ' awaiting the deliberations of the official body. The assurance of General Young that his force is sufficient to render abortive any attempt at mob violence is shared by the negi-oss. Many more of them from the residence districts of the city came to t'he arsenal , swelling the number sheA- tered by the State to 400 They are guarded as closely as is tihe ammunition kept in the building. The colored people are fed from the kitchens of the militia men , which are across the alley from the west entrance to the building. It is estimated that 1,500 negroes have left the city , some of them never to re turn. The exodus has taken them to Chi cago. St. Louis. Peoria , Decatur , Bloom- ington. Lincoln. Carlinville , East St. Louis and Jacksonville. Many have left the State , and the Kingdom of Gallaway in Missouri , Tennessee , Kentucky and even Louisiana will be expected to pro vide ne\v homes for the refugees. Two hundred of t'he Springfield rioters are to face charges of murder before a special grand jury which Governor De neen and the State's Attorney have called. BAYONET KILLS A BOY. I ail at Kankakee In Sta.bbed to Death by Soldier on Guard. j ' At Kankakee , Earl Nelson , a delivery | boy for a local grocery , was stabbed to death by one of the soldiers of the First Regiment. I. N. G. . of Chicago as it ! passed through on its way to Springfield. About 300 residents of the town witness ed the stabbing and clamored for revenge. According to the story told by Arson Arres. a French boy , and witness of the , i shooting , at the inquest , the killing of < Nelson was unprovoked. His story is borne out by the testimony of Elmer Ost born and Eli Barnett , other Knnkakee i youths who were with Nelson and saw the murder. After a lengthy session of < the board of inquiry at Springfield , Private - ' ] vate Joseph B. Klein of Company A , j First Infantry , was sustained in Oils plea ! ] of self-defense in the fatal stabbing with i a bayonet of the youth at Kankakee. I , . NOTIFSf CHAHE OP NOMINATION , Third Presidential Candidate Sounds Keynote for Prohibitionists. Kugce W Cbafin , the Prohibition ; candidate for President of Hie United j States. now knows , officially , that be i ? the choice of bis party. ll\i \ was formally notified at a mon ster meeting and reception held 'in Murie Hall , Fine Arts Building , Chi cago. Dr. Charles Scanlon , the per manent chairman of tbe convention at Columbus , came all the way from Pitts- burg to officiary tell him that it was j so , and in this he was assisted by Sam- i uel Dickie of Albion. Mich. ; Clinton X. ] Howard of Rochester. X. Y. : A. " A. 1 Stevens , Tyrone , Pa. ; A. G. Wolfcnber- 1 ger of Lincoln. Xeb. , and Felix T. Me- \Vhirter of Indianapolis. It was mentioned in passing by the ' speakers that Lincoln had felt itself honored when a notification party had informed Mr. Bryan of the great honor . ' bestowed upon him by the Democrat it- party ; that Cincinnati had experienced the same self-gratification because of i being the home of Mr. Taft , but that Chicago could feel itself honored be- 1 yond all cities because it will be the home of the first man ever to be elected i President of the United States by pro hibition VOtoS. If the speakers in notifying the other presidential candidates dealt in optim- | isms and predicted certain victory for their candidates , they did not outdo the Prohibition speakers , for never once during the1 entire evening was there anything that would indicate that the , supporters of the movement dreamed of defeat for their cause. "Never since the Hood , " declared one speaker , "has water reached such a i high tide as at present , and it is now touching the high places of the country. j It will carry on its crest our candidate , and land him in the presidential cbair , at Washington. " i i Like all other notifications. Mr. i Chah'n's speech was looked forward teas as the "keynote" of the campaign. The "keynote" was the indifference the studied indifference , it was termed with which the two old parlies had treated the temperance question , lie said that" at a later date be would send a formal letter of acceptance to the . committee , in which he would discuss at more length the issues raised in tbe Prohibition platform and the lack of issues in the platform of their oppo nents. EVANS WAP.S NO MORE. 'Fighting Bob" Goes on Retired List After Forty-Eight Years' Service. Far from grim war ships and the sea , where he- spent nearly half a century in the service of bis country , Hear Ad miral Robiey D. Evans of the United States navy reached tbe age limit of ( j'2 years Tuesday and passed from the ranks of the country's active sea fight ers. His has been tbe longest service but two year. * short of half a century of any man who has reached the ofiice of rear admiral in the United States navy. All through the day the hotel at Lake Muhonk , X. Y. , where Admiral Evans is staying was thronged with admirers eager to congratulate him on his sixty- second birthday and to wish him many more happy and useful years. Telegrams - grams by tbe score reached him from all parts of the country , all expressing felicitation and affection. ' ! In the evening a reception was held ! in honor of the admiral and a band- ! some loving cup was presented to him , , the presentation being made by Dr. { Andrew S. Draper , commissioner of | education of the State of Xew York. Admiral Evans in responding said : "In one respect at least naval oflicers are exactly like any other worthy servants of the people they are glad when they have pleased their employers. It may not be out of place for me to say that during my forty-eight years of service I have done all in my power to uphold the honor and dignity of my country , and that I have loved tbe dear old flag as I love nothing else in this world. That I have suffered severely under tbe flag must be evident to anyone who sees , but I would live my life over again just as I have lived it if I knew" the suffering was to be a thousand times as great. I go to tbe retired list with a feeling that it is a reward for long and honorable service , and I hope to enjoy the rest and comfort it may bring , unless some emergency shall call me back into active service , when I shall give all that remains of me to my country as willingly as I have given tbe best years of my manhood. " President Roosevelt was unable to at tend the reception , but be sent a letter expressing bis high esteem for Admiral Evans. German Cnr First to Paris. The German auto Protos was the first to finish in the New York-to-Paris race , having covered the 11,000 miles of road travel in 130 days. The American Thomas car arrived at Paris two days behind the leader. Nevertheless the American machine was declared the winner owing to time allow ances for transportation of the rival car by rail. NOTES OF CURRENT EVENTS. Chairman Ilitdhcock of the Republican national committee has made up his ex ecutive committee. Mrs. Lloyd Osbourne , wife of the nov elist , has filed a suit for separate mainte nance at San Francisco , Cal. Alice Johnstone , the actress , was grant ed a divorce from her husband , Dustin Farnum , the actor , in New York. Thomas F. Gargnn , a member of the Boston transit commission , died in Ber lin , Germany. He was operated on th * for a stomach diaprdtr. MEN SEEKING TO CHECK SPRINGFIELD RACE WAR , AND SCENES INCIDENT TO RIOTS. ' " r' { & t' r:4L : Uifi $ * ' # $ " * ? § feiup , ' 17 w ji j1 gfi ? : ? , SS > 55S' < . fr , fi [ > * > rfv wftl aiJB nM55 [ * f 'xJi5viqi v ft * x T iV/AiiL y-jSv * * * S'Art ' ? & fe ytr ; ss&wds * ai , , J * : * r \'v-/ / ' -V Vv.it/ t " . . . " - * ' jj ? * * " , | j C" ; 5 > * | , j&av fif ! ? I . H& v cai-teiK'JSi < * . ? 3 SOLDIERS RULE SPRINGEIELD. Iron Grip of the Militia Overawes Mobs in Illinois Capital. Springfield correspondence : After three days and three nights of riot and bloodshed the fourth day dawned with tbe race war situation seemingly just as ominous and threat ening as it was during tbe hours in which tbe torch was being applied and negroes were being lynched and shot and stoned in every street. Tbe anti negro element in the community has been curbed and overawed by the mili tia , but there has been no suppression of the spirit of antagonism against tbe colored race. Fifty-five hundred armed national guardsmen patrol tbe streets and tbe fever for blood has abated , temporari ly at least , among tbe wild element which ruled tbe state capital for forty- eight hours. It is not to be under stood that the trouble is over. Tbe dis play of strength made by five regi- jneuts of the State's organized rnilltia , Bimply overawed tbe population" which has been responsible for all of the disturbance. There was comparatively little disturbance after the Second In fantry from Chicago swept through the streets Sunday afternoon. The news of the comiii'g , also , of the Seventh In fantry and the First Cavalry , both of Chicago , had been heralded all over the city , and this went far toward bringing about a little peace. The most overt act of Saturday night was an attempt to cut the fire alarm and telegraph wires at 7th and Washin'gton streets , in the heart of the business district. With the wires down , the city would have been prac tically at the mercy of the incendiaries , who found firing the buildings in which negroes lived or maintained email businesses the easiest way of keepiiig the rioting going. The man who would have cut off the fire pro tection of the city was discovered in the act of reaching for the wires. A half-dozen shots from troops who were on patrol in the courthouse square were aimed at him as he stealthily climbed toward tbe wires. One bullet probably hit him , for be dropped to the roof of the building , but made a successful escape. To this affair is added the attempt to fire the negro sec tion on the northwest side of Spring field. field.Overawed Overawed by the presence of tbe great body of troops , tbe largest that has been assembled in an Illinois duty camp since tbe riots in Chicago in 1S94 , tbe lawless element of the city , white and black , which in its fury has been responsible for tbe death of five persons since tbe rioting began' Sun day , made no demonstration during Sunday. The city is under strict mili tary rule. Soldiers are everywhere. Every street in the business portion of the city is patrolled. National guards men , with loaded rifles , keep an inces sant march up and down the thorough fares. No gatherings of citizens are permitted. Every one is kept on' the move. Tbe troops have been given strict orders to allow no mobs to be formed , and are obeying these orders to the letter. The big fact stands out that the majesty of the law. as repre sented in tbe khaki-clad troops of the State , has been recognized , and through fear of tbe riot ammunition which was issued with orders to shoot to kill , Springfield was again at peace. NOTES OF SPRINGFIELD BIOTS. A second negro was hanged , but res cued by soldiers. Governor Ipnecn ordered the First , S'ecomi and Seventh Regiments to Spring field from Chicago. Springfield pastors united Sundny in preaching against the rioting which has disgraced the city. Forty-five hundred soldiers at last overawed the mobs in Springfield nud re stored a semblance of order. Troops aided the Springfield fire de partment , keeping a mob in check while flames in negro refuge were fought Prominent negroes in Chicago denounce the mob violence at Springfield and de- ILLIXOIS STATE CAPITOL. clarc the law should be sufficient to pun ish all offenders. A woman arrested on charge of inciting riot was released on bail , but a number of men are held on suspicion of taking part in the mob work. Governor Deneen issued a formal state- mr-nt reviewing acts leading up to the oiitbreak , the results of the rioting and the efforts to restore peace. The brutal murder of an aged negress by a man of her own race , crazed by the Springfield riots , almost resulted in a lynching in Chicago's "black belt. " TWO NEGROES ARE LYNCHED. Deadly Work of Prenzied Mob Creates Beign of Terror. Scott I'.uiton , ( j.j years old , a barber , was lynched Saturday morning. Bur ton conducted a little barber shop at ] tb and Madison streets in Spring- iield. lie is said to have quarreled with a white man. A house near his shop was fired on by tbe mob. lie ran In terror. The frr-ied men P.-.V. ' h'ni : int ! he was oapturtd. ile drew a r. voiver and was knocked down. A r.u. r fill from his iHv.-ket. A 10-year-oKl boy saw the rar. . Grabbing it. he slashed the negro on the neck. The sight of blood so maddened the crowd that it secured a rope and banged the old man instantly. Thirty shots were fired into bis body after be was dead. William Donnegan , an SO-year-oId ne gro , was brutally beaten and banged by a mob at bis home Saturday night and died at St. John's hospital at 11 o'clock Sunday morning. The police have gained a confession , from one of tbe men arrested on sus picion be was a member of the mob which attacked Donnegan. Tbe man is Abraham Kaymer , who has been in Springfield only a few mouths , lie i3 a Russian Jew and talks broken Eng lish. After an hour's grueling by Chief Morris , Raymer broke down and admit ted be was one of the mob that so cruelly strung the old negro to a tree after slashing bis throat with a razor. lie also gave tbe police the names of four or five of the mob which be knew. Ernest Humphrey was one of the men accused by Raymer. He was arrested Sunday. Oflicers are searching for the others implicated by Raymer's confes sion. From Raymer's story , the only prov ocation for the lynching was that Don negan was married to a white woman. According to his statement , the mob as sembled at Seventh and Washington STATE ARSENAL , SPHINGFIELD. Chicago sent l. . 00 additional soldiers , including 200 cavalrymen , to Springfield , making a total of more than j,000 guards men in the capital to maintain order. A boy who attempted to board the First Regiment train at Kankakee was stabbed to death with a bayonet by a soldier from Chicago , and the authorities insisted ou arresting the man. Many lyncbings and race riots have marred the peace in the last few years , but the North has had few of the risings. A total of 1,530 had been lynched in twelve years prior to 1908. streets , only one block distant from the headquarters of Gen. Young and staff. There were 200 men in the crowd that went to the home of Donnegan , but not more than half a dozen knew where the rioters were leading or what their intentions were. As the mob ueared tbe home of Dounegan members of tbe negro's family felt that the marchers were bent on killing them. The wife and children fled through a rear door , but Donnegan , who was al most blind from old age , was unable accompany