The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-21
BALLOU IN JAIL,
 DESIRES NO BOND
Negro Charged With Having Caused Panic, is Arrestcd--Dcad
 Number no.

more who had the difficulty with Wii- liam Hicks of Birmingham in the choir loft last night at the Shiloh Baptist | ed. causing many people to be killed, was arrested this afternoon by Officers Gull pepper. Jordan and Waldrop. He is ac-
 cused with disturbing public worship and l sffray. On advice of a friend he made no effort to give bond and will remain
 under the protection of the police until
 Monday.
 He denies that his difficulty with Hicks
 caused the panic. He says he was seated
 with Major R. R. Wright of the Savan-
 nah Industrial School when Hicks de-
 manded that he vacate his seat. Upon
 his refusal to do so Hicks took hold of
 him. Ballou says the struck Hicks in
 the face. Men grabbed Hicks, whom he
 says made an effort to pull pistol The
 panic was under way at the time Ballou
 says no one cried out fight or fire and
 that the trouble under archway was
 caused by the people leaving the church
 in a rush after Booker Washington s | speech.
 Hicks will surrender tomorrow. Booker T. Washington has received the l following telegram from President Roosevelt in regard to the disaster which befell so many people at National Baptist Convention at Birmingham last night. | His reply also follows:
 Cincinnati, O., Sept. 20. 1902 Booker T. Washington:
 T am shocked and mortified by the
 disaster at Birmingham and desire to ex- press my great grief at the sad loss of | life. Theodore Roosevelt" | Birmingham. Ala, Sept. 20. 1902. | President Theodore Roosevelt, St | Nichols Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio: l Our people most grateful to you foI | your words of sympathy in the matter | of the terrible calamity which has be-
 fallen so many of our race, everything
 possible is being done bS both white and
 colored citizens to help. Birmingham
 city officials have been most thoughtful
 and generous. The crowd at meeting
 was very large, but was perfectly order ly. The disaster grew out of one of thosi
 incidents which it was almost impossible to foresee. Booker T. Washington. | The streets of Birmingham today were | crowded from early morn to late al
 night, the entire negro population of the | district being here discussing the great
 calamity which took place last night al | the Shiloh Baptist Church where the | National Baptist Convention (colored) is being held.
 | Around the different undertaking es- | tablishments of the city droves of ne-
 groes and many white persons stood, ex- l pecting to get a glimpse of the victims l nf ha afrOnha ErnU1 a epptfnD1 Of l the United States telegrams have been l coming to Birmingham asking as to the safety of certain delegates to the con vention. Those who escaped death and | injury in the accident have been sending | telegrams far and wide announcing their safety while newspapers and officials of the city have been answering messages as to persons supposed to have been in the church at the time of the awful af- fair.
 The list of dead jumped early this morning from 7S to SS and before noon 1t was known that 100 and more had been killed. The list has reached 110 and may expand beyond the 120 mark. The fact that the little archway at the entrance of the church could not possibly have held more persons is probably the cause of the number of dead not being greater Viewing the bodies of the unfortunate negroes. it is evidenced that the men, | women and children met their deaths | from suffocation and did not lose any | blood.
 It took some time for Identification to- day but the work is going on with de- | termination and funeral arrangements have been made for a number of the victims. There will be more than sixty funerals in Birmingham tomorrow. A few bodies will be shipped from here to- morrow and several went away tonight The undertakers are working hard pre- pairing the remains for burial. Those of the victims who have no relatives are being given proper attention and will be given a decent burial.
 There are more than fifty injured, and it is not unlikely that some of these will die.
 Officer Elledge, who was on duty at the church and was knocked down when the crowd began leaving the place, is not dangerously injured. He is hurt in formally.
 The cause of so many Birmingham me- groes being killed is that the visitors were given the best seats in the house and were in the front part of the church, near the pulpit. The trouble started near the entrance to the church. in the front. just opposite the pulpit.
 There Is no doubt but that the quarrel between a negro Ballou of Baltimore, formerly of Birmingham. and a local ne- gro, William Hicks. A woman with one of the men wanted seat One of the men slapped the other and the woman cried out fight" This word was taken up and fire was heard. Then the rush for the door started. The door is sixteen feet wide and from 1t are steps down to a landing, under an archway. Into this archway the crowd seemed to have con gested.
 The screams and moans of people in the crowd attracted much attention and in a very short while thousands had gathered to assist in the removing of bodies.
 Rev. A. B. Williams. a delegate from Mendin, La. left the building three minutes before the panic He was in need of fresh air and walked outside. He stood on the sidewalk in front of the church and heard the cry of flight" and fire" He saw the jam in the little archway. He ran up the steps and rais- ing his hands ordered the people back but his voice was weak against the mad dened cries of the people coming from the church. In his words. the story is as follows.
 T was about to be overcome with heat and needed some fresh air When Professor Washington finished his