Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-10
PLATFORM FALLS
PANIC THREATENED IN NEW
YORK JEWISH MASS MEETING.
Forty Men Piled in Heap During a
Public Reception to DR.. Levin,
Late Member Of Duma.

NEW YORK, December 10.-A Jewish
mass meeting In Duriands Riding Acao-
envy last night nearly ended In panic
when part of the speakers platform col
lapsed dropping Jacob H. Schif. the pre-
siding officer, and about forty other per-
sons in a heap on the. tanbark floor.
The meeting was called for the purpose
Of welcoming to this country DR.. Shma-
rahu Levin, a Jewish member of the late
duma and a leader of his people in Russia
DR.. Levin was among the persons who
berger and Representative Goldfogle.
berber and Representative Goldfogle.
The hall was crowded to its utmost ca
pacity, mostly by Jews from the lower East
Side. Dr. Levin had finished his address
and Mr.. Schin was uttering the closing
words of the meeting when rush for the
platform began. Everybody in the great
audience apparently wanted to shake hands
with the Jewish patriot. The crowd climbed
up on the reporters table and stepped
from it to the platform. The rush was still
on when there came great crash:
The northern half of the platform had
dropped to the floor, distance of about
three feet and nearly everybody standing
on the collapsed part had been thrown Oh
his feet. There were several women In the
heap, good many camp stools and sofa
One or two of the women shrieked but
those who went down were, on the whole,
pretty calm.
Almost Panic.
The great throng that was in front Of the
platform. though, began to show dangerous
signs of excitement. Those in the rear OF
the hall, who were headed for the exit,
heard the crash and turned. They couldn't
see distinctly what had occurred and began
to push their way toward the front. The
police by this time had forced their way up
to the platform and. mounting the re-
porters' stand, they warned the crowd to
stay back and leave the hall.
Mr.. Schiff was at the edge OF the heap,
and lie was quickly helped up on the part
of the platform that was still standing.
He was very cool and, stepping out toward
the crowd, added his voice to the voices of
the police in warning the people to leave
the building. Then he jumped down on the
reporters stand and helped to straighten
out the tangle. DR.. Levin also landed on
the edge of the heap and was one of the
first to get out.
Everybody was out of the mixup within
two minutes, and nobody had a mark to
show, although there were some dresses
torn and some bonne;s crushed
The platform was at the western end of
the academy, 1t was not very substantial
looking affair." A section of the platform
in Durla nds went down at the last Hughes
campaign meeting, but then 1t sagged only
a foot or so.
Mission of DR.. Levin.
Others ON the platform when it went
down last night We're the Rev. DR.. Joseph
Silverman, rabbi of the Temple Emanuel,
and the Rev. Ord. L. Magnes, his as
sistant.
Dr. Levin spoke in Yiddish. He said,
among other things, that his mission to
this country was to stiffen the sentiment
among the Jews for political freedom In
Russia. Incidentally he wanted to do all
he could to influence American bankers not
to loan money to Russia until she had full
filled her promise to improve the condi-
ton of the Jews.
Dr. Levin described the conditions in
Russia while the duma was sitting. The
Russian Jew, he said, wants no favors and
asks for none, but he has been suffering so
long that he does want justice. DR.. Levin
declared that Jewish bankers had often got
promises that there would be an improve
ment and had loaned Russia money, but
afterward the Jews had only been screwed
the tighter.