The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-02-28
WOMEN ATTEMPT
TO PUSH REFORM
IN WALL Street
Police Called Out to QueII the
Disturbance.
MOB FROM CURB TO CURB
Suffrasists Delused with Storm Of
Scraps, Ticker Tape and
Water.

NEW YORK, Feb. 2S.-The efforts OF
the suffragettes TO win converts to
their cause ended in a riot In Wall
street.
Thousands of people, attracted by
the sight of the women. gathered on
Broad street in front Of the Broad
street exchange, where the women at.
tempted to address the multitude from
a carriage. From every window Of
surrounding buildings the brokers
showered the ballot seekers with their
tape. paper bags filed with water
scrap baskets and tin cans.
The police reserves were called out
to put stop to the proceedings, and
it was with great difficulty that the
street was cleared
Mrs. Borman Wells, modishly
dressed woman; Miss Helen Murphy
young and very handsome, and George
Black, who was defeated last year for
alderman by Percy Nagle, constituted
the suffragette forces. They drove up
before the Broad street exchange In a
carriage, and Mrs. Wells began to ha-
rangue the crowd.
Hundreds of messengers and tele-
phone boys and runners gathered, and
in ten minutes there was hooting,
yelling mob extending from curb to
curb, effectually blocking traffic.
As Mrs. Wells began her speech win
dows in the Broad street exchange, the
tombstone building and surrounding
skyscrapers were thrown open, and
hundreds Of rolls of ticker tape were
thrown into the streets, which in few
minutes was white with 1t.
Fellow citizens" began the sunra-
gette. I'VE want our rights! We de-
mand our rights! For thousands OF
years woman has been the slave Of
man-the slave. The black man was
freed of his shackles. He became a
free man. We would be free women.
We want our rights"
We'll, | Amt got EN-" bawled an
office boy what are you lookin' at me
ferF'
Then long spirals of paper settled
around the heads of the suffragettes,
and the crowd yelled approval.
Mrs. Wells finished her speech In
fifteen minutes, but so great was the
din that no one heard her. Then Mr.
Black rose In the carriage He was
greeted by yells that could be heard
for blocks.
lns crowd pressed forward, sur
rounding the carriage, shouting and
icering. The police were forced &c
draw their clubs TO drive the people
| back.
Mr.. Black waited ten minutes fol-
the noise to subside and then began
At the first word he was greeted by a
shower of scrap baskets, br0oms and
bags of water, which struck the car
rlage, drenching the occupants, caus'
Ing great amusement to the crowd.
A broom thrown from the fifteenth
story of the exchange building struck
/ the NOuiu NC Oidtoi oh INC ucou
smashing his hat and causing his rage
| to rise.
"YOu are lot of idiots" he yelled
"You don't dare let me speak! You
are towards and idiots.'
Then amid the jeers Of the throne
the driver of the speech wagon whip
ped up his horses and carried of the
irate speaker, shaking a bundle Of
ticker tape at the crowd.
The suffragette carriage was follow
ed for three blocks by yelling crowd
Mr.. Blacks wrath was not shared by
the women, who smiled during tn,
whole affair and seemed to take it as
matter of course.
During Mrs. Wells harangue score
of well dressed brokers wearing sill
hats gathered on the curb and gave
three cheers for the women who wan
to convert the stock market"
"We'll try again, and the next timt
! perhaps we'll have better luck" said
Mrs. Wells after the safety point was
reached. II am sure the men wht
made fun of US were not true repre-
sentatives of Wall street"
When 1t became evident that tn,
brokers were wholly unregenerate ant
would not look on the cause as sacred
the driver of the landau was told t
whip up his horses. and the landau
with its finely accontered forces, re
treated, just as did the Spanish army
before Santiago. 1t was defeat with
out dishonor.'