The sun., 1907-08-22
Big APPETITE STARTS A RIOT
$50 PERSONS HURT ar HAFFEN
OUTING AT COLLEGE POINT.


The annual blowout OF the Jefferson
Tsmmany Club. Borough President Louis
F. Hsffen's Bronx organization. at College
! Point yesterday. ended In a riot in which
about $50 persons were injured, seven Of
them 90 badly that they required the at
tention OF an ambulance surgeon. Incl
dentally. Joseph wtzel's dining pavilion
at Point View Grove was wrecked. Before
the row was over all the reserve police
mon within ton miles of tho grove on the
Long Island side had been summoned
Frank Jordan. a young driver. who
lives at Sal Walton avenue, The Bronx.
and brother OF Tim Jordan. the Brooklyn
National League first baseman. started the
trouble by demanding a second dish of ice
| cream. There were about 1000 men In the
| dining pavilion at the time. Outside were
1000 more. most OF them gathered about
the FREQ beer which had been on tap ever
since the Haffenites arrived. The man In
tho dining room had been kept waiting
from until O'Clock before they got any
thing to eat and they were irritable While
waiting they had done their best to keep the
beer from getting stale. I
Witsel, the proprietor Of the pavilion,
was trying to break up a rsgtime tattoo
that the diners were playing on the plates
with their knives and forks when Jordan
got the notion that he wanted a second
helping Of ioe cream. The waiter refused
to serve 1t and then there were loud words
between him and Jordan.
Witzel hurried around TO the pair and
told Jordan to sit down and keep quiet and
maybe he would get another dish of ice
cream after everybody else had been served
Witzel then turned away and Jordan.
picking UP pitcher Of ice water. hurled 1t
at him. The pitcher hit Witzel on the back
Of the head and broke. The proprietor.
who is % years old, sank to the floor bleed
| ing and in an instant the dining room was
in an uproar. Several Of the walters lifted
the wounded man and fought their way
with him out Of a side door and into the
clubhouse, about fifteen yards from the
dining pavilion.
| Meantime Witzei's son Emil had grappled
with Jordan. and aided by dozen walters
he rushed him through the rear door into
| the kitchen. Jordan liz in a big black
kettle full OF boiled potatoes. The hot
water was still on the potatoes Some OF
the walters bsrricaded the kitchen door
on the insidei while others continued 20
hand Jordan a little more punishment.
In all there were fifty walters in the dining
room when the storm broke and most Of
/ them managed to get to the kitchen in the
! first rush.
The mob from the dining room with one
rush not only forced the door but carried
the entire partition with IL. Then a free
for all fight ensued. Plates and pitchers,
| cups and saucers. knives and forks, every
thing that the crazy mob could lay their
hands on was hurled in the direction Of tbs
| walters. Big bowls of soup were turned
| upside down over the heads Of the hghters
. mashed potatoes were plastered over al
| most everybody and everything. In the
confusion Of flying victuals the lighters
lost all track Of ons another and took to
hitting a head whenever they saw ons
The pavilion is enclosed on all sides, and
there was no why Of getting out after the
fight started because the police rushed in
| and locked the doors, They did this to
prevent the crowd outside from rushing
in and adding to the riot. There we're no
regular policemen in the grove when the
trouble began, Commissioner Bingham hav-
ing insisted that Witzel should furnish his
own men to police the grove. The pro-
prietor had only nine Of these special
officers tohandle the crowd Of 5000. Mounei
Patrolman Edward Butler and two detec-
! tives from the College Point sub-ststion
were outside the grounds. and they rushed
to the pavilion and closed the doors.
, Patrolman Butler rang in a riot call to
the College Point sub-ststi ton. about>a
| mile and half away, and Capt Halpin
passed the call along to the Office OF the
Queens Borough inspector at Jamaica
Within five minutes after the call had been
turned in more than 100 policemen were
on their way to the grove from the College
Point and Whitestone substations and
from Flushing. Newtown. Jamaica and
Richmond Hill
The forces from College Point and White
stone arrived at about the same time
They found a mob about the pavilion throw
ing stones and beer glasses through the
windows and beating on the doors. There
wasn't a single window pane left in the
building. Inside the war was still going on.
Shouts and curses and occasionally dish
OF potatoes or something else in the way of
eatables reached the crowd outside
The police had to fight their way into
the pavilion with their clubs. The fusillade
was turned on them and they were smearcd
All the rioters who were on their feet were
driven out and then the police undertook
to dig the others out of the wreck Some
Of them we're buried under a mass Of food
and broken furniture. Policeman Edward
Butler and the two detectives who had
reached the pavilion first were sad sights.
Their fellow policemen had to dig several
courses Of the banquet out Of their eyes
and ears and hair.
Jordan was found near the kettle Of
potatoes with his right ear torn OF and
with other cuts on his head. He had been
badly burned about the hands and body
by the hot water in the kettle. The son OF
the proprietor was found under two chairs
with his nose broken and his face cut but
breathing defiance Patrolman Edward
Butler had an artery In his right hand cut
by a flying piece OF glass and was also cut
about the face