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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1919)
MOD JEERS iS COUNTY STRUCTURE IS BURNING s. Each Burst of Flame Greet ed With CheersCrowd Watches Upper Floor to See If Jailors Are Smoked Out. WOMEN AND, fclRLS NUMEROUS IN CROWD! tlen Cut Fire Hose Build ing Burps Three Hours Be fore Sfream Turned On . Shoot Until Negro Dies. ! FASCINATING! GRIPPING! ADELE GARRISON'S LOVE SERIAL, REVELATIONS OF A WIFE. HtSTHEF. ,j trrnA '' "N. I 'tl ""V TT V Monday night JjSn Tuesdsy; . The Omaha Daily . Bee isis -a . . i ' V J . ' a. ro S p. m. ... l i' f 1 m .m. ... M . m. .. 71 f VOL. 49. NO. 88. JgPr'im'K' Oj&AHA, MONDAY,' SEPTEMBER 2, 1919. ' - 8WMgLrV,gSS. SS: TWO CENTS. 11 7p""-; " 1; mm turn mm iw. i y i J : uT - , , MIDNIGHT The spectacular features attend- i ing the burning of ttie magnificent Douglas county court house, with ' darnaae estimated from $200,000 to j $500,000, were entirely subordinated to various aspects of the crowds action, which were without prece-1 dent in any affair of the' kind that ! W.as taken place in ttie country in tne st quarter century. it"or three hours the hre burned, !om after room being set afire by Lembers of the mob, without hin ranee from police or firemen, the Ltter being utterly unable during Vat time to get a stream played on V of the rooms. The first hose is not turned loose until about ,":30, and then only after the shoot ing on the Eighteenth street side, which' .heralded the capture and death o( the negro, and the achieve-1 merit of.' the mob's purpose. "It's All Over." It was then that a truck ran a hose out at the Farnam and Seven teenth street, corner. Some of the crowd jumped instantly to cut the hose, but were restrained by others who shouted: "Let 'em alone. Its all right now, we've got the nigger and its all oer." No Injury to Firemen. "So injury was done the firemen in preventing their efforts to reach the fire, possibly for the reason that any effort on their part to combat the aiob would have been useless. A fire truck that drove up to Farnam and Seventeenth street was greeted with hoots and jeers by the crowd, which made way for it, but surged around again when the hose was run out and attached to the street plug. "Cut the hose," yelled some one, and within a moment scores of knives had hacked the tough fabric of the hose to pieces. The same attitude was maintained by the crowd with the advent of each succeeding fire wagon, until it became apparent- that no legally, constituted authority in the city could do anything to stop the burning.- The Offices Burned. " Starting with the eounty treas urer's office, the following rooms were set afire by members of the mobt and wholly gutted with all IEET ASKS MILITARY Prominent Business Men Con fer With Commissioners in Council Chamber and De mand Martial Law at Once. Mayor Smith MHio Had Narrow Escape When He Tried to Argue With Mob Leaders OFFICIALS CONDEMNED F0R DELAY IN ACTION' ' contents: County floor. Election first floor. treasurer's office, first - , ' i commissioners' rooms, nrst noor. Sheriffs office, fourth floor. v County clerk's office, first floor. The district clerk's office, second i floor. ' . The county attorney's qffice, third floorA ed J Red Cross rooms, basement. The flames spread to other rooms of the building, but the above were wholly burned put, with contents and window facings. Mob Used Gasoline. Gasoline was used to start the flames, the first room to burn being the county treasurer's office. The fluid was turned on the floor, desks and chairs, and the latter placed in a pile in the center of the room. A-mighty cheer burst from the crowd with the first explosion of flames through the windows, and the mob surged around to the Farnam street side from Seventeenth and Eighteenth street. Within a few minutes entrance was made into room on the third and fourth floors on the Seventeenth street side of the building, and within an hour they; burned fiercely, five rooms on the fourth floor being gutted, the flames reaching from the end of the building to a point over the middle of the gret central doorway. The rirt in the county clerk's Of fice was started by three or four youths, apparently only 14 or 16 years of age. They' were seen at work piling chairs in the center of the ' room, their actions being followed with cheers by the mob. Then the match was applied, and amid cheers and shots from the crowd they climbed out on the window ledge to watch the progress of the flames. Crowds Cheer Flame Bursts. With each burst of flames from the "windows the crowd set up a cheer, which drew the members of the mob on the side streets surging around to the front. Flame burtss from the side streets, with result ant yells, took (hem back again, and in this manner the progress of the fire continued during . the three hours that it burned. Women and Children. The make-up of the crowd was largely that of spectators. A great number of vomenand girls were in he thick of the jam at all hours, crowding up within a few feet of the burning building, and apparently oblivious to dander, or secure in the feeling' that no harm would come , to them. . i Above them the air whistled with ! the shooting that was constantly going on. men scattered through the crowd constantly pulling re volvers and firing them into the air. Holiday Shooting. During' the early hours of the j sight, following the start, of the! rc. and up. to the time tjie laoaer i as raised on tn; r.r.rney street uotinitf J On Ytf Seven, Column it re.) Should Have Acted at First Sign of Mob Trouble, Say Citizens Ringer Silent and Eberstein Disappears. A demand for immediate' de claration of a state of martial law in Omaha was made by lead ing business men in a hastily convened meeting in the city coun cil chamber immeditely after the lvnching of the negro last nignt. Ward Burgess, Everett Buck ingham, R. C. Howe, LC. Nash, Randall Brown. Lloyd Skinner and a number of other prominent citizens were present, with City Commissioners Zimman, Ure and Ringer. 1 The meeting was called to make an attempt to meet the serious situation which faces the city. Commissioner Zimman presided until Mr. Ure had been summoned from his home, when he took the chair. To Protect Negroes. Two hundred troops were re ported by Mr. Ringer at the meet ing to be on their way to Omaha from Des Moines to protect the colored citizens and prevent fur ther trouble. ' Up to a late hour no communi cation hnd been established with Governor McKelvie who is absent from home. Permission to get troops from Fort Omaha and Fort Crook will be secured through him. Ward Burgess declared that he, would get the authority from Washington to get these troops if it can be secured in no other way. Ringer Silent; Eberstein Gone. Commissioner Ringer last night would not discuss the riot He refused 1o affirm or deny a report that he was inside the court house while the riot of the evening was . going on. Chief of Police Eberstein could not be located after the lynching. Mr. Burgess declared that the riot, burning of the court house and lynching of the negro consti tute the most flagrant disgrace that has ever blotted the name of Omaha. "But it has happened," he said, . "and we must meet the new con dition. Plenty of Troops. "I believe the situation now should be handled with an iron hand. If an iron hand had been used earlier today the riot could probably have been avoided. But now is no time to hesitate. Let us have troops here and plenty of them." . Elmer Thomas declared that a body of armed citizens could be organized instead of calling for troops. - A motion was made that a state of martial law should be declared in the city. Attorney F. A. Brogan object ed to this and pointed out what the meaning of martial law is. "It means," he said, "that no courts can sit, no police act none of the ordinary functions of civil government go on without Jhe per mission of the military authorities, I don't think we want to order that here yet. The situation is very serious and we need troops (Continued On Pge Seven, Column Six.) Mm IlK m $5-' : -. This picture of Mayor Smith was taken a year ago, when a flying circus was here promoting a Liberty bond campaign.'" The mayor made a flight with Lieutenant Hill, an Engiish aviator. ' ' . ' ' . LYNCHING COMMITTEE OF 30 RECEIVES WILL BROWN FROM OTHER COURT HOUSE PRISONERS - Chief Eberstein Remains in Jail Until Prisoner is Delivered Over to Crowd Negro Hanged From Pole in Front of South Side of Court House and Body Then Tied to Automobile and Driven to Seventeenth and Dodge Streets, Where Burning Takes Place Many Shot, But Only Two Fatalities Reported Frenzied Popu- j ir KnriMTnn to Mane mavor omun canv in ine cveninx, duitbiu uiuicrs Called Out at Last Moment Fireme n Prevented from Fighting Blaze. ' . Accused Negro Who Paid With His Life For Attack on Girl "Too Terrible to Talk About," Says Victim of Negro's Assault Agnes Loebeck, .the girl who was assulted by Brown; was told of the lynching" shortly after it occurred. , "I am sure he is the man." she said, "but the whole thing is too terrible to talk about." "He is a brute and deserved to. be hung," exclaimed Louise Loe beck, Agnes' sister. . I 1 Casualties in Riot : LIST OF DEAD. 7 Will Brown, negro, accused of . the assault of Miss Loebeck; Man, 23 years old, supposed to be Clarence Clancy, shot eight times. Dead at Y. M. C. A. . LIST OF INJURED. Mayor Ed P. Smith, severely cut about head and possible fractured skull; unconscious. Police Of f ice Robert P. Samardick, badly beaten in afternoon. . ' . Police Officer Heinle Bosen, beaten and wrist sprained, at Eleventh and Jackson streets. - Special Agent F. A. Heisler, Union Pacific, beaten about head. Also' struck on head with rock. Arm sprained. Frank Dobin, 3018 South Eighteenth street, beaten and finger broken, at Eleventh and Jackson streets. Unidentified boy shot in knee. Attended at Y. M. C. A. Taken home by friends. Conrad Field, Fremont, Neb., shot in back. Taken io Y. M. C. A. for emergency treatment aiid then to Wise Memorial hospital. Seriously wounded. " J. Nafsinger, Sampson, Ala., shot in hip. Bullet re moved at Methodist hospital. Condition not serious. Harold Bulletts, grocery clerk, 2919 St. Marys ave nue. In St. Josephs hospital. Shot in leg. Not serious. ' Police Officer Andrew Trapp, badly beaten. Treat ed at Central police station and taken home. J R. Feere, 1105 Pacific street, shot in leg. Was on third floor of court house when shot. . Police Officer Dworak, South Side, was struck over the head with a gun. He was taken to Y. M. C. A. and 'then to his home. Injuries not considered serious. : John Hudspeth, 1333 South Twenty-eighth street, shot in shoulder; not serious.- " Arthur Hall, 16 years old, 4910 Twenty-eighth street, badly beaten, at Twenty-fourth and Grant streets. ' Police Officer W. J. Turner, South : Side, left leg broken by shot. Detective Jack Graham, shot in left hand and neck. Gilbert McMurray, fireman No. 7, rock fell on neck and his back may be broken. J - Pete McDermott, fireman! No. 16, overcome by gas in court house. Rescued by Johnny Lee and taken to Y. M. C. A. Not serious. , ! Captain R. Dunlap, fireman, beam fell on shoulder. J. W. Murdoon, 416 Karbach block, shot jn mouth. Man thought to be Fred Morasko, shot. Taken to nurd CM Will Brown, negro, was lynched by a crowd at Eighteenth and Harney streetf at 10:55 last night after several hours' endeavor to gain admittance to the court house which was a seething furnace when the black man was taken down a ladder by leaders of the mob. - - Brown, charged with assault upon Agn es Loebeck, 19-year-old white girl of 3228 South Second street, last Thursday night, was crazed witn ingnt wnen his captors gamed admittance to the cell room on the top floor of the court house. - After being riddled with bullets at the pole where it hung, the body was,dragged Seventeenth and Dodge streets, where it was burned. The lvnchincr occurred after one of most spectacular scenes ever witnessed Omaha. For several hours the court houswas trurrounded by a mob of 10,000 interested in watching the destruction by fire of'che new $r,5j0,000 court house and also in await ing the fate of the negro whose lifefiung in the balaikc RUSH BROWN DOWN STAIRS. Negro prisoners in the coifnty jail rushed Brown down the stairway from the jail when the fire threatened to rach the cell room and, forcing1 SheVl.ff Mike Clark out of the way, hurried Brown to the floor below where they turned him oyer to a lynching com mittee. " ' A , Two are dead and thirty-nine injured as a result of the lynching. . . At 3 o'clock this morning Major White and 700 soldiers from FortOrrraha were i troling the streets downtown. Machinecruns were stationed around the city. Soldi with bayonets drawn, stopped -every pedestrian and automobile and ordered them of street.,. , . - ... - - - The remnants of the mob dragged the charred torso of Brown through the str until an early hour this morning. All sorts of rumors went thrbugh the crowd One report was that Sheriff Clark been shot. . Many were injured when they attempted to force their way inside the court h up to the sheriff's office. . SCALE SIDES OF BUILDINGS. When the fire began to make its way to the jail rooms on the top floor of court house, the tire department, previously unsuccessful in quenching the tire, br ladders which were extended on the west side of the court house. Civilians who adept in scaling the sides of buildings, gained the second floor window landings, and went on to the third and the fourth floors by means of ropes. Windows were sm; in and the workers were heartened by the cheering of the crowd below. , m xne meantime tne nutter oi an American nag was ooserved trom the county ottice. . , "Bring down the negro J" was a command frequently heard from Wembers of determined crowd. V . Mayor Smith was seized by the mob on Seventeenth street, near the court house 10 o'clock, and was threatened with lynching. He Was hustled to Harney street i stopped at the foot of a trolley pole on the cross-arm of which was a coil of rope. " "Giv us the key to the jail." "If we can't get the negro we'll lynch you." "He no better than the negro." "He's a negro lover," were cries heard in the mobf Get that rope, someone shouted. It was pulled down by a loose end, but was not long enough-to reach. , A man climbed the pole with a knife and cut the rope. It was brought down and placed around the neck of the mayor. YELL, "STRING THE MAYOR UP." . "Throw it up over the pole and string the mayor up." veiled a dozen voices. The Lmob surged to and fro. The mayor was the center of a crush so great that it almost over wirew an auwmuuiie standing near. - The rope was placed around the mayor's neck but it wasn't thrown over the pole Appalled at the possibility of murdering the city's chief executive, voices began be heard: . ' we won t stand tor hanging the, mayor"; "That won't get us the nigger": "L 7im go" ; "Tell 'im to get out of here." ' The crowd began to move. It surged down Harney street. The mavor was tn midst of it. This excitement being over, many rushed back to the court house conflag tion ana tre mayor disappeared. - The mayor entered an automobile standing near the scene. Ansrrv cries surtre again immediately. The automobile was overturned and the mayor had a narrow es irom more serious injury. The car caught fire and burned up. Mayor Smith was rushed to the Ford hospital following the attemnt tn 'lvnrrt him Dr. E. C. Henry attended him. Until an early hour this .morning", the mavor was still urt conscious from severe injuries received to his head. The extent of his iniuriea has not been determined. Strenuous efforts to suppress all reports concerning the1 mayor injuries were made. ! to y in pe 0 (Continued SeTrn, Column Sis.) -mm USE NEW ROPE FOR LYNCHING. . The lynching was done with a new three-quarters inch rope. When the body hung still, high in the air the rope was cut. The naked body fell to the pavement. Men cursed and kicked it. - The rope was fastened quickly to an auto-V moDiie wnicn drove oir slowly through the crowd, the horrible object at its end blood-J MVPrprl nnrl tracrcrrcr Q Inn rr ha noiununt hrmirh fho ornnrrl . n " u fill, JL , X- A W The automobile proceeded only a short distance when the rope was unfastened and the body was dragged by as many men as could get hold of the rope up Nineteenth street to Farnam; east to Eighteehtth, north to Douglas, east to Seventeenth and thence to Dodge street where the mob stopped. Thebody was covered with kerosene taken from fire truck lanterns and the match applied. ' The crowd danced around while the flames shot up. . . 7 , -f . It Was the original intention to drag the body to Twenty-fourth and Lake streets, the center of a large 'negro' settlement. This was abandoned, however, after the mob left tne scene ot the lynching. v A young man leaped on the top of an automobile and made an impassioned spee - uont go to Twenty-fourth and Lake streets tonight," he said. "Those negroes there are all armed and your life will be endangered. Don't go up there tonicht. G( up there tomorrow when you're armed right and you can get as many of them as you like. But not tonight. ' "We'll go tomorrow(," yelled a man. "You bet, we'll go tomorrow," came back many voices. . (Continued on Vt Two, Column One.)