The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-04-04
THE CINCINNATI RIOT.
The Jail Attacked by a Crowd Of
Ten Thousand.
The Troops Called Out and Fire
Upon the People.

The intense excitement which existed in
| Cincinnati on account of the jmy's verdict in
the case of William BeIner eliminated in an
attack upon the Jail and collision between
the militia and the cnraced citizens.
Bcrncr had been found guilty Of the
murder Of William IL. Kirk. whose
dead body was found in crcc'; ncar
Cincinnati shortly before last Christmas He
had been stran@lcd with a rope Bcrncr was
arrested. and confessed that hc and a negro
had murdered and then robbed Kirk Isr-
ner, i'll making his confession. gave III
the shocking details of the crime
the most cold blpodcd manner.
Despite this confession and further evidence
confirming the truth, the jury rendered
verdict of marslaughtcr The verdict wa;
received with the greatest Indignation. and
even the judge ON hearing it exclaimed in an
undertonc: Its an outrage The Jury
were denounced on every hand and
would have been treated with VIC
lence had they not concealed them
selves. The subsequent action of the
people as described in Cincinnati dispatches
is rs follows:
William Bcrncr was quietly brought before
Judge Matthews to-day and was sentenced to
the penitentiary for twenty years, the full
limit of the law. After sentence Berner
was disguised and placed in n buggy with
Deputy Sheriff Dominicll Devote and driven
TO Linwood. where they cot aboard the Nor
row accommodation train and went to Love
land to await the arrival of Criminal Deputy
Shcrlh Joe Moses with the necessary papers
for Berners committal 10 the pent, uJiary.
Ten thousand people attended the Music
hall tonight to express their Indignation at
the verdict of the jury in the case of William
Berner. The meeting VS. called by reSpccta-
bic and well known men. The venerable Rcu-
ben r. Springer signed the call together with
Deacon Richard Smith, Henry UImcr and 100
others, The presiding officer was Captain
Andrew c. kcmper. His speech wa, far from
nilammatory, but the audience had been in
famed ever since last Monday. The mana
gers of the meeting. no doubt OUT of prtI-
dence, caused an early al iouinmcnt
The great crowd rushed ont and turned
south on Elm street. At Twelfth street il
turned east and commenced yelling. When
II reached Walnut street it turned south and
AT Court it turned east and in IA few minutes
was ut the Jail front on Sycamore street.
Every man who had been in Music hall
joined the march and the crowd filed the
streets from side to side. 1t was without a
leader and seemed to moveby instinct With
IN min ut after it arrived at the Jail men
We're banging with sCantlings at the trol.t
door of the jail office, \ crowd of three OF
four thousand people outside were sending
up cheers whenever they hear window
crash or a door give way. In the in
teryals between cheers the crowd was
quiet and orderly as at an
ordinary political meeting. and when the riot
alarm rang the crowd knew it, When the
police patrol wagons drove up and fired ii vol
ley in the air from their pistols the crowd did
not bulge. Word was passed around through
the crowd that the police did not want to hurt
anybody and that the Jail guards were nos
going to make a Jealous defense OF the muir
dererS.
The news that some one had struck a police
man in one of the patrol wagons met with
expressions of dislpprobation everywhere
The riot alarm augmented the thronS
OF byst3nders. At IL O'Clock when
and tools taken Il universal shout
went up. Each step in the progress of the
working mob was signalizcd by shout from
the army of byStandcrS outside There was
no DRUNKENNESS III the crowd. but all the beer
saloons in the neighborhool were throngcd
Shortly before midnight the first regiment
OF the National Guard entered the jail, and
were marched through the front entrance of
the courthouse through the tunnel into the
jan where the mob was thrOnging. The po- |
lice inside the Jail arrested some Of the first
members OF the mob that entered: hat this !
soon became ilnpracticable ana the police re |
framed from using their pistols When the |
flling of the militia in the Jail took place, |
whereby two of the crowd and two police |
men were shot, the crowd thinncl out only /
a little Expressions of regret were heard |
everywhere. 1t was known in the |
outside crowd that there had been
no firing at the crowd and that |
the firing was done inside the jail !
and only To scare them. Every dru., store /
IL the vicinity was open and they were filed |
With people, among whom WERE many women. /
ne hope was universally expressed that the I
mob would succeed Messengers were con (
Stantly bringing news from the scene of the
mob To those places of resort.
# Ia, ,.,l 81,