The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-08-18
THREE ATTEMPTS
To KILL P|CKETS
IN SPRINGFIELD
Negro Fires on Soldier When Or
dered to Halt and Exchange
of Shots Follows.
MAYOR REECE KEEPING
ALL SALOONS CLOSED
Molasses Can Explodes and Reg
iment Hurries to Rescue
Negro.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Aug. 18.-An at
tack upon pickets and the forced hegira
of 100 negroes from cornfields on the
outskirts of the city to the State ar
senal, kept the militia busy today, the
firing upon the sentries and their an
shots occurred less than two
blocks from the headquarters of Cen
eral E.. C. Young at the county jail.
was injured, but the flying bull
lets caused CONSERVATION in the dis
trict.
Trouble followed an attempt to set
fire to a factory building on Eighth
street, between Jefferson n Madison.
A negro, who had been ordered away
from the place several times during the
night, was discovered lurking in a
shadow by Private George Howell. of
Troop e, First Cavalry. Howell again
ordered the man to move on, but the
reply was a shot from a revolver. The
negro dashed down the street, disre-
garding the commands of the sentries
to halt. AS he turned into an alley
Corporal Adelman and Private III.
Loewenstein, both of Troop B, fired at
QlII. IAc btlOt6 WCnt VIM O0t tASy
the headquarters, two blocks
away, and company q, Of h First In
fantry, vas sent to the place on the
double quick.
Fuxitives Driven from Fields.
The alley and adjacent houses were
searched, but no trace Of the fugitive
discovered. The affair happened
shortly before daybreak and was the
third attempt made to assassinate
militia pickets.
The clearing out of the cornflelds
southeast of the city was the result of
successive nights of terror in Harvard
Park. An inspection of the cornfields
late yesterday showed that at least
100 negro refugees had camped therein.
The presence of the negroes Is thought
to have been responsible for the dis
turbed conditions In the suburb. Both
last night and Sunday numerous shots
were fred there and it Is now thought
that minor depredations by starving
refugees had caused the troubles.
At a meeting of the Chamber of Com
merce and the business mems ~associa-
ton today the efforts of State Attorney
Hatch to bring the offenders tt justice
was COu1iIlSIlucu, DIS was dlSO the REFUSAL
of Mayor Recce to allow the saloons to
reopen.
MOlasses Can Alarm.
A whole regiment of soldiers was
brought into action when a can of mo-
lasses exploded and drenched a negro
who was making a purchase al a North
side grocery. The negro was standing
at the store counter when the explosion
occurred. With molasses dripping from
his face, hands and clothing, he ran
screaming from the store, through back
yards and over fences, until he reached
his home. Then he cried tina he had
been killed, but the store had been
blown UP and that every one was dead,
The sound of the explosion and the
cries of negroes alarmed the nearest
military camp and several companies
of infantry got into quick action. When
they reached the store the grocer was
laughing so hard that he could not tell
them what had happened. So they fol-
lowed the trail Of molasses and came
at last to the dripping negro. The
clothing was stripped from his body,
but there was no sign of a wound. Their
the grocer cleared the mystery and thu
soldiers returned to their quarters.