Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-02-18

Springfield, Ill, Feb. 18.-
Adjutant General Dickson re-
ceived telephone message to-
day from Sheriff Nellis stating
he apprehended trouble tonight.
Dickson at once ordered Com
pany M of Champaign to Cairo.
The adjutant general immed-
lately left for Cairo.
Troops Kept Help Away.
Cairo, Ill, Feb. accompany X OF
this city this morning patrolled the
sidewalk in front of the court house
where shortly before / a. m. Alexander
Halliday, leader of a mob in an attack
on the JAIL was killed by deputy
sheriffs, and where four others. two
not members of the mob, were
wounded
Lay Three Hours Outside.
Halliday, son of a former mayor of
Cairo, lay for three hours dying beside
the court house steps with the tenn
perature near zero. During that en-
tire time Sheriff Nellis. acting on or
ders received by telephone from Gov
ernor Deneen, refused to permit any
one to remove the wounded man or TO
allow a physician to enter the enclo-
sure. The Sheriff says he believed
the man was dead. Militiamen who
removed the body at a m. say it was
warm, indicating death had come but
a short time before. The dead:
Dead and wounded.
ALEX XANDER HALLIDAY aged 81
dairyman, son of former Mayor
Thomas W. Halliday of Cairo, shot in
the head and body.
The wounded:
Samuel Wessinger, former police
man, head and shoulder.
John Maloney. brother-in-Iaw of Mrs.
Rose Maloney, whose purse was
snatched by one of the negro prisoners,
slight wound on the cheek.
Horton Crehan. shot in the ankle
was
George B. Walker. Associated Press
correspondent. wounded in the leg.
Eight Deputies Negroes.
Eight of the IL deputy sheriffs,
whose shots killed Halliday and
wounded the others, were negroes.
This fact was not definitely known
to the crowd which stormed the court
house. but it as suspected and the
supposition helped arouse the racial
feeling that spurred on the crowd.
The deadly volIey which the sheriff's
men fired from the windows of the
court house was fired in answer .
/ scatterings shots from the crowd, and
after the deputies, obeying the sher-
IFS order, had fired one volley in the
air
Sheriff Feels Bullet.
One of the bullets from the crowd
grazed the sheriff's right hand and
the others fell near him. II was after
this, he says. his men fired directly
into the crowd. The mob fell back
to two nearby saloons and remained
there until the saloons were closed
shortly after a. m. on order of Mayor
Parsons. caused by message from 7.
the governor at Springfield. When
the men were turned out of the saloons /.
it was too cold to remain outside and .
another attack on the jail was not /
ventured. At o'clock the militia re-
lieved the Nellis deputies.
Negroes in Petty Crimes.
The attack on the Jail was the out
growth of public Indignation over .
petty crimes by negroes. particularly
purse snatching and annOyances to
women. Mrs. Rose MalOney's purse
was snatChed Wednesday evening
She drew a revolver and fired at the
negro. but he ran away with the purse.
In the purse was a silver dollar to
which a postage stamp had become
attached. Mrs. Maloney told the po-
lice of this fact and when the negro.
John Pratt. offered such coin in a
drug store Yesterday he was arrested.
Pratt confessed taking Mrs. Maloney'5
purse and several days ago that of
Mrs. Accord
Implicated Another.
He said Lincoln Wilson. a negro.
was an accomplice and Silson was
also arrested. Reports of the intended
iynching reached Sheriff Nellis and
,ate last night he telephoned Governor
Deneen at Springfield. The local
militia was ordered under arms =
once. Meantime the sheriff called on
Mayor Parsons for aid from the police.
The mayor said he would order men
to assist Nellis. but none of the police
men appeared at the court hoase.
svears in Deputies.
The sheriff swore in a dozen depu