The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-17
Women Pelted With Missiles
During Meeting in
Hyde Park
MRS. DRUMMOND PUTS
BLAME ON THE POLICE
Hardly Had Mrs. Drummond Begun
Speech Before Mud Was Hurled
Thick and Fast--Women
Dragged in Streets

| London March 16-The suffragettes
who again attempted to hold Sunday
afternoon meeting in Hyde park were
mobbed by a crowd of 1900 persons.
For two hours the park where demon
strations until recently were held in
peace and Oxford street nearby were the
scenes OF widest disorder.
The trouble began when General Mrs.
Flora Drummond mounted wagon and
started to speak to the great assemblage.
which was largely made up of youths who
had armed themselves with ammunition
OF various descriptions or with trumpets.
mouth organs and bells. She had hardly
uttered word when a clod of turf struck
her in the mouth.
Mrs Drummond maintained her good
nature. smiled at her tormentors and
continued her speech among a veritable
tornado OF abuse, cat calls, ragtime
choruses and cries Of Ego home TO your
children
Jeered BY Crowd
For half an hour the crowds shouted.
sang and pelted the suffragette eomman-
der-in- n-chief whose clothes soon were a
mass of mud. At last Mrs Drummond's
speech, of which not word was audible,
came to an end and a younger woman
took her place. She Jared no better.
The police called upon the chairman to
close the meeting. Under escort of 4
large force OF police, mounted and afoot.
the women We're led out of the park, fol.
lowed by jeering crowd, which contin-
ued to pelt them with missiles.
The police endeavored to pilot the
men TO the tube station. but tho crowd
brushed them aside and dragged the wo-
men up and down the street. In the me-
lee one woman's eye was blaekened and
the clothes of all were torn and dishe1-
eled. The police after half an hours
struggle got the upper hand
The attack on the suffragettes was pre-
conceived long before their wagon cf-
tered the park. Hundreds of boys had
assembled ready for mischief and they
such as Is seldom witnessed III a London
park where freedom OF speech is ac-
corded the adherents Of every propa-
| ganda. The disorder continued, despite
the efforts of n particularly strong force
! Of police
| But the crowds s3ltnumbered them loa
to | and IL was Impossible to prevent
mon from throwing their often well aimed
| missiles at the harassed women.
Mrs. Drummond, speaking of the Hyde
park affair this evening. said 1t began BY
| some boys shouting, 'liello, here's
Mother Drummond She declared that
| the crowd had shown no hostility and
that the trouble was caused by the po-
| lice in interfering with free speech aud
| in their officious manner trying to escort
the suffragettes from the park
The Referee, Sunday journal devoted
to sport aud the drana, says the details
Of an elaborate suffragette plot to kdnap
David Lloyd-George, chancellor of the
exchequer are only just beginning 10
leak out
"When the government learned OF the
daring nature Of the plot" the paper
says, "the number of detectives guarding
Mr.. Lloyd-George was largely increased
one OF the speakers. a Miss Rogers.
collapsed as she was being escorted
from the park and her clothes were on
the point of being torn from her when
the police succeeded in rescuing the
woman.
1t was regular stand-up fight be-
tween the police and the crowds, tho
former striking out right and left and
endeayoring to arrest the ringleaders
Others among the rioters, however
would come to the aid of those seized
by the police and forciby take them
out of their hands.
Suddenly the cry would go up.
Here's one, and the police would
fight their way to fainting woman
wearing the unpopular badge of the
Women's Social and Political union
Every woman thus adorned was greet
ed With cries of "fncendiary.' shop
Dredkerif 'lake her TO the Sefpentine.n
--an artificial lake in the parlx-whle
the crowd sang:
"oh You Beautiful DOLL and other
ragtime melodies.
Mrs. Drummond concluded by SAYING.
we didn't want an escort and We
don't fear the mob and because We
trusted the mob and refused an es-
cort the police assaulted u.s."
At Hampstead Heath another suffra-
Sette meeting was broken up. al
though the crowd did not attempt any
violence. The people who had assembled
satisfied themselves with drowning the
women's speeches by shouting, singing.
and boohing. The police finally had to
order the women away.
london, March i6.--Snfffagettes are sup
posed to have set fire TO newly con-
structed house today at cheafn, Surrey.
six miles from Walton. where Chancellor
L1oyd-Georges house was damaged ov
. bomb recently. The cheam residence.
which was burned to the ground, was not
occupied Neither the owner nor the
agents are in any way connected with
| tile suffrage movement or the govern
ment. Sufragette placards We're left
! near by.