New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-10-01
BLACK HANDSCHO0L PANIC
MOTHERS MOB BUILDING.
Innocent Petition Distorted Into an
Tmpending Disaster.

ono NJ those unaccountable panics which arise
rro,n causes too trivial to be considered under
ordinary circumstances occurred yesterday in
front of Public School 1T, Monroe and Mar
ket SITS For almost hour the teachers.
powerfully backed by the staIwart janitor.
noIiceman and two white wings" of the Street
Cleaning Department, paraded up and down the
sidewalk endeavoring to assure the excited
mothers, cousins, sisters and aunts that no let
ter had been received in tine school from the
BLACK Hand" and that there was danger OF
the school building being blown up at ''3h min
utes" past ! o'clock as had been reported
1t was when the noon recess was nearly over
that half a dozen Hebrew women. bearing chill
dren il, their arms or dragging them along the
street in their eagerness TO reach the school,
hammered at the front door Of the school de-
manded admittance and insisted on taking home
their children who were then IN attendance As
surance on the part Of the school officials that
there was no danger seemed only to stimulate
the anxiety, and there was wild talk, inter-
mingled with remarks about BLACK Hand"
dynamite. explosions and bombs. In an incred-
ibIy short time the rumors were flying all over
the school district. About o'clock fully a thou
sand women and children were massed In front
of the schoolhouse insisting that the children
inside come home at once, before the school
was blown up.
The fanitor found it necessary 10 bar the
heavy oak doors. The women threw themselves
against the portals. beat on the massive panels
with their hands. and called out in piercing
cries Mine Rachel "Oh. mine Isaac"
Moses. why don't you come home yet?' The
riot soon reached such proportions that Miss
Ella T. O'Brien, the principal Of the school sum-
moned her trusty iantor. and, with some Of the
teachers. went out the sidewalk and endeav-
/ ore5 10 "a IN the frantic women.
This was no easy task for the population in
that part Of the city has read much about the
/ Black Hand" dynamite bombs and FIRE horrors.
! The mob had heard so much about those atroc-
! tiles that they believed there was to be an eN-
J plosion under the school IT not until l 80
/ O'Clock that the streets were finally cleared.
| When a Tribune reporter visited the school at
/ p. m. there We're still anxious mothers ana
! children inquiring II the danger was over.
An investigation of the cause OF the panic
! showed that a man, dressed In an ordinary
tweed suit, mounted a 5hoeblack stand in front
! of the school just the children We're coming
| out at noon and asked for signatures 10 an "eX-
preston OF public opinion in favor OF giving
/ transfers from the elevated system of railroads
| 10 the subway. Children who signed went horne
! AMI told their parents about a strange man who
/ taking the names ol IL the children in No.
| III. Having a vague idea of what the subway
| and transfers were but having vivid recoec-
! tion Of BLACK Hand and fire horror stories.
scme Of these children told their parents that a
plot foot by the BLACK Hand" 10 blow
| up the school that afternoon. The absurd ru-
| NOR spread swiftly.