Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-08-21
ILLINOIS CAPITAL
RULED BY Rioters
Two Persons Killed, Many Injured,
and Stores Wrecked After
Lynching Is Fooled.
NEGRO QUARTER IS BURNED.
After Destroying White Restaurant
Houses of Blacks Are Fired
by the Crowd.

Riot, arson and slaughter held pos
session OF the black belt and levee OF
Springfield. H., all through Friday
night. Two men We're killed. nearly
100 wounded, the streets were full OF
militia. and rioters set fire TO negro
houses in sll parts OF the black belt.
The fire department WIS inundated
and overawed by the rioters, ard until
the arrival OF 1000 additional state
soldiers the authorities were practically
helpless to control the situation.
Mob EaIked by Ruse.
All his turmoil grows out Of an at
tempt to lynch q negro who had at
tackled Il write wOMan The negro was
spirited out Of town. and h mob,
ba liked in It's vengeance, Immediately
turned on the man who loaned his auto
mobile to the authorities to enable them
to convey the negro to a place of safe
tv. This was the spark that started
the riot.
Special trains were hurried from De-
catur. Jacksonville. Bloomington, Pc
oria. and half a dozen other towns,
DJNl LIS ' NN'"i' "'N
Early in the state of riot all the sa-
looms and d~isorderly houses in the city
were closed by the Mayor, and the MILL
tiamen did their best to prevent the coy
Letting OF any crowds in the streets.
Their efforts were futile, however. They
would dispense a crowd in one neigh
borhooI, and it Immediately reassem-
bled in another.
When ut . a. H.. the burning of negro
houses commenced the negroes retal1-
ated by shooting from the upper stories
Of the houses in the neighborhood where
the torch was applied. A number OF
| per .ons were hit during these fusillades
| ana were carried away by their friends
before their identity was discovered.
Origin IF the Trouble.
The melting cause of the trouble was
an assault mad on Friday on Mrs.
Earl Hallam, wife of a street car con-
ductor. Mrs. Hallam, whose husband
works at night, was pulled from her
bed at midnight by a negro, who then
dragged her into a garden in the rear
Of the house, where he assaulted her.
This was the last straw on the minds
of the whites of the city, the hatred
against the blacks having been smolder-
ing since a month ago, when Clergy A.
Ballard was slain In his home by a
negro, who, it is said, bad entered the
Ballard home in an attempt to assault
Mr.. Billiards. young daughter.
George Richardson. a negro, was ar
rested for the assault upon Mrs. Hal
lam and placed in the city jail with
Joseph James, who was accused Of the
Ballard murder.
.Mutterings Of mob violence began
soon after the Richardson Identification
by the woman, and a great crowd col
lected about the jail. After Richard
son had beea identified by Mrs. Hallam
the crowds grew even more violent, and
it was decided to take the prisoner out
Of town.
Sheriff Charles Werner made ar
rangements to take the men to Bloom
ington and the attention of the crowd
around the Jail was distracted by an
alarm Of fire while he men were placed
in Harry I. Loper's automobile and
whisked away to the railroad station
near the fair grounds, where a train
was stopped to let the sheriff's men and
their prisoners get on board.
AS soon as this was known the mob
began to gather, bowling for vengeance
against the man who had assisted in
the escape of their prey. The cry,
Come on to Lorrer's," vas raised, and
a few minutes later bricks were crash
ing through the windows. Lopez met
~ vNl~. ,~-s1 ~
| heed to him. and he vas forced into the
back part Of the building, where he was
compelled to witness The complete de-
struction of his property.
The restaurant was the largest in the
city, and had a large trade. Within
an hour it was a complete wreck. All
OF the furniture was taken out and
| piled on top Of the automobile. which
had beer turned over on the street, and
| then a match was applied to the gaso-
| line tank. The bonfire ragged until mid.
night. The police were utterly power
less 10 cope with the mob and the fire
department. which had been called out,
was not allowed to %eXtinguish the
| flames.
During the attack an attempt was
| made to do bodily harm to Mayor
Reece.
AT 10 o'clock Louis Johnson, q 49,
year-old boy, was found dead in a rear
stairway leading to the basement of a
downtown building. He had been shot
through the groin.
AT the time the riot began Eugene
w. Chafin, the Prohibition candidate
for President, was addressing a meet
pursued by a mob came dashing up the
platform. and in endeavoring to protect
the man from his pursuers the orator
was struck in the face with a brick and
badly injured.
c--orr Nryre ,rorrc