Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-03-02
BL00DSHED AND RUIN
MARK WAR ON GREEKS
Mobs in South Omaha Burn and
Wreck Houses of the
Foreigners.
FIGHT THE POLICE IN STREETS.
Legislators Address Meeting That
Starts Riot-Two Vicious At
tacks Are Made.

Three persons were shot, a score of
others injured by heavy missiles, and
thirty houses partly destroyed by fire
and axes us the result of race riots
between hundreds of men of South
Omaha, Neb.. and the members of the
Greek colony there.
There were two mobs concerned in
tn. affaic, second crowd renewing the
attack Sunday night after the first had
been dispersed by the police i'll the
afternoon There have been fifteen ar
rests made and the police are guarding
the Greek settlement to prevent third
outbreak.
AS precaution the South Omaha
fire and police board issued an order
that all saloons in the city shall re-
main closed until further orders.
The attack on the Greeks followed a
mass melting where violence was urged
by the speakers, among whom were two
members of the State Legislature and
former city attorney. The meeting
was called after hundreds of men had
cAShN0 u PCllliOi III W ulsn tAC 0lCChS
were charged with serious crimes
against girls and women.
The speakers referred to the murder
of Patrolman Edward Lowery, who was
shot and killed on Friday by Greek
whom he had placed under arrest. The
slayer had been arrested while in the
room of an American girl.
March Upon Greeks Begins.
When the meeting broke up, with the
intention of meeting again at night.
crowd of more than 1000 men started
toward the quarters of the foreigners
in the neighborhood of 26th and Q
streets They were determined to pun
ish some of the leaders of the Greeks,
but when two of the mob, Frank Swee-
ney and Joseph Gamble, both young
boys, were injured in the attack on the
first house by shots fired from the in
terror, some began TO apply the torch.
Two blocks east another crowd
smashed the front of a saloon and at
tempted to pillage the interior, when
a squad of police charged the crowd
and prevented the mob from securing
the liquor.
A third crowd rushed to oath and L
streets and attacked a confectionery
store run by Demos Bros. The big
plate glass windows were quickly
smashed, the doors kicked in. and the
stock and show cases destroyed. Mrs.
Mary Demos and her aged father were
in the store and both narrowly escaped
death at the hands of the mob.
The three attacks were made almost
simultaneously and the destruction
was complete before Chief of Police
Briggs could get his scattered force
together and stop the depredations.
Meantime. Sheriff Bradley was notified
and collected all the deputies possible
and rushed them to South Omaha to
aid the police. 1t took some time to
get the force organized and during the
interval Greeks were attacked on every
hand
in control, but at o'clock the mob had
gathered again and it renewed it's at
tack. The first disorder was at Both
and Q streets, where the rioters smash
ed in the plate glass front of a Greek
grocery store.
The proprietor, Dionisios Catapodis,
and his family were in the rear of the
store, and as the husband came out he
received shot in the leg. squad of
officers reached the place in few min
utes and succeeded in getting the
wounded man 20 the police station in
an automobile by stealth.
At 8 o'clock the fire department was
called TO 2Sth and x streets, where
large two story double frame building
was in flames. Thirty Greeks had been
quartered in the place, but all are be-
lieved to have escaped. The building
was entirely destroyed, however. The
3esieged Greeks defended themselves
with firearms, with which they appar-
emily were all equipped. They fired a
fusilIade out of the windows, one shot
hitting Charles Estroyl in the head. 1t
was this scrimmage which undoubtedly
enraged the crowd into setting fire to
the building
A moment later the fire department
was called to 30. and Q streets, where
the mob had set fire to a Greek grocery
and residence. The rioters beat two
of the Greeks into Inconsistencies and
started downtown with the third, beat
Zig him as they went The police sue
ceeded in getting the man away and
took all three of the injured men to
the station.
Home of Thirty Burned.
At IL p. m. a riot call was turned in
from 26th and streets, where the
crowd had gathered. The mob quickly
fled to oath street. where they demol-
i.shed a Greek candy store at 430 North
oath street. .
BY this time almost every building in
South Omaha occupied by Greeks. and
many tenanted by Roumanians. had
been wrecked. Twenty or more injured
Greeks were given protection at tse
police station.