New-York tribune., 1910-02-04
THOUSANDS In RIOT
STORM THE GRAND
CENTRAL PALACE.
Fooled by ids" Great Cro5od
Fights to See amateur
TauderIc Performance.

About ten thousand men ana women
disappointed to find that tickets Which
they had were not good for ADMISSION u
an amateur night performance Aelo
last night at the Grand Centrai Falace
under the auspices OF the Ne" ioi !"
Amateur Night Association, caused the
police reserves from four station houses
considerable trouble when they gathered
outside the Palace and voiced their
opinions of the men who conducted the
entertainment. No arrests were llldue
According to stories told Captain Lam
try. of the East 51st street station the
crowd was fooled by advertisement caros
which were made up to look ike adIills-
sion tickets. These cards, II is S8lu'
read: Admit two orchestra, 81, De
sides other inscriptions
The doors of the Grand Central Palace
were thrown open last night shortly be-
fore o'clock Hundreds OF persons
who were in the van of a long ine
waiting to get into the hall Tor lhe
performance. crowded through the doors
Immediately and when they presented
tickets they were told, they say, that lle
slips of pasteboard were only ads, ana
that they would have to pay SO cents
for a hat check and anything from 81
to 81 so for tickets of admission.
There was trouble at once. Men ana
women standing in the street III tHe
rain started to push into the lobby. try
ing to get good seats before others
crowded them out Those in the lead
started to turn around and leave the
building This caused q bad jam
The lobby was so crowded there was
no room for persons who kept arrlV-
ing in taxicabs, trolley cars and cahs
every minute. When the new arrivals
found that they were to be disappointed
they stood in the street in front OF the
building and upbraided the management
of the entertainment.
Several hundred persons agreed to pay
their way into the hall, and they got
seats In short time there were '5,auV
persons in the hall, and the manager
announced ne would admit no more.
When this news spread to the waiting
crowds. both in the lobby and out IN the
streets, there was an uproar, and III the
general rush for the street that followed
every pane of glass in the doors was
broken
The three policemen stationed at the
hall were unable to handle the crowds
and Captain Lantry and his reserves
were hustled to the scene. They could
do nothing with the crowd. which had III
creased TO about eight or ten thousand
persons. Police Headquarters was in
formed and reserves from the East 4'th
street. East 35th street and East 22d
street stations were hustled to the scene,
The police then began 10 disperse the
mob. which blocked the surface cars
east and west in 42d street and north
and south on Lexington avenue.
The crowd kept on yelling and did
everything possible to interrupt the show
going on in the building. Just as the
noise was at its height Flower Hos
pital ambulance. on the way back to the
hospital, dashed by The ambulance
was halted by Captain Lantry, who
asked that the doctor and driver wait
near the scene in case of accident, The
ambulance stood by for more than half
an hour and then returned to the hos
pital.
The crowd was we'll thinned out by 1o
o'clock and the police were called OH.
The entertainment consisted of q con-
fest among various vaudeville perform
ers for prizes which ranged from 5000
to $40.