Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-04-03
HIOT AND BLOODsHED.


Citizens OF Cincinnati, Ohio, Exasperatsd
Over the Defeat OF the Ends OF Justice
seek Summary vengeance-An Attack Oh
the Jail Brings Them in Conflict With thu
Militia, Resulting i'm tho Killing and
Wounding of Several Citixens--The Mol
ArminS-Escape of the Murderer, Der
ner.
CINCINNATI, O., March g.
The most exciting night ever known IL
Cincinnati has just closed, and the city
this morning is in stunned and daZed
condition, people asking each other with
bated breath and blanched cheek, t'When
Is all this to end?"
The deep feeling of indignation which
has possessed all minds at the pusillani.
general shielding of murderers
from the penalties due to theil
crimes was multiplied and intensified by
the shameless verdict of Imprisonment
for limited term of the red-handed muir
derer Berner, indicted for and clearly
proven guilty of the deliberate and brutal
murder of VIM. H. Kirk.
meeting was called by some Of the
best citizens to protest against the action
Hall was well filled with constantly
increasing crowd. Long before the
meeting was called to order ten thousand
people crowded in the hall and
surged about the corridors and filed
the space in front of the building, Tue
looks of the people were ominous of evil.
Those who called the meeting soon saw
that they had raised a storm that might
end in whirlwind, but it was too late to
back out. They organized with long
list of Vice-Presidents and the usual
officers. They intended to counsel together
and advise as to the best means of
Kidding Cincinnati of the stain that was
on her. The more moderate the better,
in the presence of the angry element.
The people were aroused-it was not a
mob of the lower classes, but an angry
gathering of the best citizens, indignant
beyond control-a smouldering fire that
only needed breath to fan it into a roar
ing fame.
DIR. Kemper, a respected citizen, was
made chairman, and made conservative
speech counselling moderation and dis
closing how to correct the abuses of
criminal procedure and jury trial. An
ailusion to the Berner jury was met by
cries of chang Them" chan. them all;"
s'lynch 'em." One man called out: "I
thought we came here to organize Wig
lance committee; if so, let us go to
work" Shouts of eyes, yes" mingled
with few feeble noes' greeted the sug-
gestion.
Order was partially restored and the
speaker introduced General Hickenlooper,
who spoke in the same strain, with fire.
quent Interruptions of the same sort.
Then Judge Carter comes forward and
addresses them, giving his long expert
ence on the bench, and saying
he had not heard of such an out
rage on law in all his life before.
If the jury was believed to have been
dishonest in this matter they should
be allowed to leave the country, for
they were not fit to live i'll a civilized
country.
Campbell, the great criminal lawyer?"
eff he is as dishonest as you seem to
think he is, let him go, too" replied the
judge.
The answering cheers almost lifted the
roof
A big brawny fellow in an upper gall
lery let down rope in the sight of all.
1t was suggestive, and in minute score
more of ropes were in sight, and shouts
Of "Hang 'em all;" ''gut the jail;"
''shoot them down on sight," ETC., were
heard on all sides.
Resolutions strong and sharp were
brought in and passed with whirl. A
friend of Campbell, Benners Laymer,
tried to amend them, but the crowd
would have none of it. They became
more and more boisterous; their blood
was getting hotter; the tiger in mems
bosoms was awakened. The leader saw
they must, if possible, avert mischief and
as quickly as possible adjourned at 9:45,
and in five minutes the hall was empty.
Mayor Stevens was sick in bed and the
whole duty of preserving the peace rested
upon the Sheriff.
At five minutes of ten the fire bells
struck 62l, the number of the Court
house. Instantly the city was In commo-
ton. Everybody knew what it meant.
Crowds filed the Jail. Fifteen thousand
people were there in fifteen minutes.
The first overt act was by some boys who
began to stone the Jail. Very soon a
crowd gathered. 1t was soon reinforced
from the Music Hall meeting. In short
time all the windows of the Jail were
broken.
The crowd had ropes. They broke into
a carriage factory across the street and
took out q huge beam sledge-hammer, &C.
A dozen men ran with the beam as bat
tering ram against the jail door and forced
it open.
The police upon arriving in the vicinity
of the Jail commanded the crowd to move;
not being obeyed, they fired, but as no
one was hurt it was presumed the police
fred in the air-they being deeply in sym.
patty with the movement to condemn
the outrageous Berner verdict. A shot or
two was fired from the jail, but the crowd
refused to move.
Inside the Sheriff, Jailer and Deputies |
kept themselves as calm as possible.
The mob found Berner gone. They |
tried to find the Burkers and to batter |
down the cell door of one of them. By |
this time the police were thick about |
them. They got possession of the Jail |
and restored order in a slight degree; |
but they did not dare to make any ar |
rests; the mob would not allow it. They |
filed the house and roamed about un- |
seeking some luckiess criminal |
on whom to wreak vengeance There |
was shooting but it was up to this time /
only from the mob firing in the air.
The First Regiment of the o. N. G. were
drilling in their armory a couple of squares |
Iway from the Jail. Sheriff Hawkins
brought over a detachment and intro
4 = IL s.-A -