The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-01-11
The New Year Fracas.

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Our usually quiet city has been more or less
excited for week over tie prosecutions, insti.
tuted by the city authorities, growing out of the
turning of Of the gas and attempts to break up
dancing party at Washington tor Turner Hall
on the evening Of New Year. We have attempt.
ed to get at the real and all the facts of the case
bnt have thus far failed to succeed. However.
The following is a brief outline:
The dancing party, as stated in our last, was
gotten mp by certain coterie who proposed las
was their perfect right to admit only such AZ
they chose to invite. The first syaptoas % dis
turbahce arose from the fact, that about 10 o'clk
on the evening OF the party, five young men, of
WHOM but two were ON the invited list, applied
at the door for admission to the ball room They
were told that the two invited could come in. but
the other three-ther friends-nust be excluded.
The uninvited three were young men of good
character, two of them having sisters in the
rooin,) and had been in the habit of attending
dances at the hall whether actually ticketed or
not, and always found welcome They were
doubtless aggrevsd at their exclusion at this
tame, but except possibly giving vent to All i'm
patient expression or two near the door, the
whole five withdrew quietly, stepping for ten or
fifteen minutes into the saloon below, and then
going home. In all the subsequent prosecutions,
none OF these FIVE were further implicated than
Is involved in this statement, and none Of them
were fined or even legally complained of.
Half an hour to an hour afterwards another
party OF young men appeared at the hall--or
rather in the first place, in the saloon under the
hall. There were from six Ia a dozen of them
altogether. Attempts We're made by some of
these to get into the hall, and some Of them did
get in, aud we're excluded with some difficulty
There is no doubt, also, that by Some of there
the gas was Turned of at the gas works, but by
which one precisely, has not vet been revealed.
-Four or tive Of this latter party have already
had trials, and have been fined, frem $40 TO $25
each-some pleading gnilty to "disorderly con.
duct" and Others stoutly protesting their inno-
cencs Of all completely in the disturbances, or all
knowledge Of it, except such as they had from
being accidentally present during part Of the
time. Some OF them are still to receive their
trials and others have appealed to the Circuit
Court. Ew asgs arg freE v5Bvg
There is no evidence that the dozen of young
men who composed the latter party met at the
saloon under the hall in consequence Of any pre-.
vious arrangement or understanding, or that
| they acted in any way in concert Halt of them
may have been wholly innocent Of any attemp.
to disturb or break up the ball.
The ball, however, WAS we believe. effectually
broken mp. After the gas at the gas works had
been turned on again. it was turned off by the
! meter at the hall, fast not discovered until
next day and the party who had their supper
| in the dining room connected with the hall had
10 eat by Kerosene light, and amid good deal
| OF disturbance besides. 1t WAS unqucstionably
shameless affair throughout, but We still adhere
to our purpose not to give the names and expose
TO public apprehension the guilty ones until all
have had their trials, and until we are in posses.
sion of all the facts that may be developed in
the matter.