Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-08-20
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 all parts of the black belt.
The fire department was inundated
and Overawed by the rioters. and until
the arrival of 1000 additional State
soldiers the authorities were practically
helpless to control the situation.
Mob Baked by Ruse.
All this turmoil grows out Of an at
tempt to lynch a negro who had at
tackled a write woman. The negro was
spirited out of town, and the mob,
baked in its vengeance, Immediately
turned on the man who loaned his auto
mobile to the authorities to enable them
to convey the negro to place of safe
ty. This was the spark that started
the riot
Special trains We're hurried from De-
catur, Jacksonville, Bloomington, Pc
oria, and half a dozen other towns,
bearing infantry, cavalry and artillery.
Early in the state of riot all the sa-
looms and disorderly houses in the city
We're closed by the Mayor, and the mill
tiamen did their best to prevent the col
lecting Of any crowds in the streets.
Their efforts were futile, however. They
would dispense a crowd in one neigh
bOrhood, and it Immediately reassem-
bled in another.
When at , a. N. the burning of negro
houses commenced the negroes retail
ated by shooting from the upper stories
of the houses in the neighborhood where
the torch was applied. A number of
persons were hit during these fusillades
and were carried away by their friends
before their identity was discovered
Origin of the Trouble.
The melting cause of the trouble was
an assault made on Friday on Ms.
Earl Hallam, wife of 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 q 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-
Ballard was slain in his home by a
negro, who it is said, had 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 great crowd col
lected about the Jail. After Richard
son had been 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 the 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 Loper's," was raised. and
few minutes later bricks were crash
ing through the windows. Lopez met
| the mob with a rifle They paid no
heed to him, and he was 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 been turned over on the street, and
| then a match was applied to the gaso-
line tank. The bonfire ragged until mid
night. The police We're utterly power
| less to 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, a 49,
year-old boy, was found dead in 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. Chain. the Prohibition candidate
for President, was addressing a meet
Ing in the courthouse yard A negro
pursued by a mob came dashing ND the
| platform, and in efldeavoring to protect
the man from his pursuers the orator
was struck in the face with brick and