The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-17
MOB TRIES TO
 THROW BRIDGE
 MAN IN WATER
Furious Crowd Seizes Peter Mooney, Who Saves Self By Twisting Foot
 Into Fence
HAD, TRIED TO OPEN BRI[G:
Noon Hour Crowd Resented
 It-Mooney Tried to Ar rest One and Riot Resulted

After a rough and tumble fight be- tween Drawtender Peter Mooney of the East Washington avenue bridge and a score of angry factory men yesterday noon, resulting from Moon ey's attempt to open the bridge to permit the passage of a vessel at 12:40 o'clock the drawtender was seized. overpowered and would have been tossed into the river but for the fact that he succeeded in twisting his foot into the bridge fence, and pre- vented his asasilants from carrying out their purpose.
 As it was. he was pretty roughly handled and today has many bruises as remembrances of the combat.
 As matter of fact the bridge tender was perfectly within his rights in opening the draw at 12:40. having time to open it and permit the pas time at which the Government regu- lations specify that the. draw shall remain closed for a quarter of an hour.
 The workmen however who were on the way to their respective factor then passing in a continuous stream oE the way to their respective factor
 
 saw Mooney go to his lever and be- gin to open the draw.
 Someone in the crowd hurled a number of insulting epithets at the drawtender. Mooney is special policeman, and he did not intend to take the abuse of the crowd, so he drew a billy from his hip pocket and sallied forth to the end of the bridge when the insults arose.
 Singling one out of a big group, as the offender, Mooney placed him un- der arrest. Immediately the others jumped to the aid of their companion and In an instant Mooney was the center of whirlwind of angry men: Before the crowd he was helpless and In trice. they had freed his pri- soner and were giving Mooney all he could do to take care of himself.
 Suddenly someone shouted, Throw him overheard" The crowd took up the cry, bounced on Mooney. pinioned him and dragged him to the side of the bridge.
 "One. two, three." they yelled, giv- ing him a host at each numeral.
 Up he went, fighting wildly. and probably would have splashed into the icy Pequonnock river but for a piece of good luck. He caught h's foot in the ironwork of the bridge fence and managed to stick there for a moment. This saved him, for his assailants came to their senses and let him go.
 By th's time it was 12:45 o'clock, and the vessel which had been wait 'ng to pass the draw was obliged to stay another quarter of an hour before it could get through.
 It is quite possible that arrests may result from the affair although no warrants have been issued as yet.
 Some of those who saw the strug- lie declared that the drawtender picked out the wrong man when he started to make an arrest in the crowd sand that the riot was the con- sequence.
 Bridge tender Mooney has long been made the victim of insults and abuse on the part of passers-by who do not realize that when a vessel seeks to pass with n the proper hours, the bridge must be opened Or the vessel has the right to ram it open, a course of procedure that would do great in jury to the bridge and would entail much expense upon the city and probably put the bridge out of use for many hours.
 The bridge tender was doing the pedestrians a favor in opening the bridge yesterday. although they did not realize it.