Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1915-09-04
PATERSON CEASES
TO Be FIELD FOR
LABOR AC|TATORS
Elizabeth GurIey Flynn and
Others Not Allowed to Ad-
dress Meetings.
Special to the Evening Star.

| Special to the Evening Star.
PATTERSON, Sept. 4.--Labor agita-
tors who have found this city fer
tile spot for their operations will
have to seek new fields in the
future, for last night Chief John
| Bimson. in no uncertain words, told
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the I. w. w.
speaker who came here to address
q meeting at Institute Hall on Mar
ket street, that In the future no out
of town agitators who were exploit
ing the propaganda of the I. w. w.
would be allowed to address meet
placed under arrest.
After delivering his ultimatum to
the Flynn woman, the chief gave her
the choice of being placed under ar
rest or escorted to the depot by two
plainclothesmen, and she chose the
latter.
The action of Chief Bimson was
fthe result of conference held yes
terday afternoon between the chief,
Mayor Robert F. Fordyce, Police
Commissioner George B. Stimson and
Acting Recorder William FL. Young,
when 1t was decided that the best
way to curtail the operations of the
l. w w, who have again become
active in this city, was to prevent
them from holding the meeting
scheduled, and to arrest tSe out-of-
town speakers if they attempted to
address the meeting.
Chief Bimson, Captain of Detec-
tjves John Tracey, the entire detec-
we force and number Of police
men in plain clothes went to the hall
where the meeting was to take place
and found a big crowd waiting for
the speakers
Resented Police Action.
The chief mounted the platform,
told the assemblage that there would
be no meeting held and asked them
to disperse as quietly as possible.
Some of those present resented the
action of the police In stopping the
meeting and refused to leave the
building, and they were forcibly
elected by the detectives and the
lights turned out.
Several of the committee in charge
of the meeting had gone 10 the depot
to meet the corps of speakers, which
in addition to Elizabeth Gurley
Flynn consisted of Carlo Trescar
Abraham Greenstein, Arturo Giovan-
netti and Adolph Lessig, former sec
retary of the Paterson branch of the
l. w. w. ..
The speakers were told that the po-
lice had closed the hall where the
meeting was to take place, but that ar
rangements had been made for an
other meeting to take place at Al
Bridge street, under the guise that
the meeting was lodge affair.
Another Hall Cleared.
The police were tipped" of the
second meeting, and the chief and a
squad of men went to the Bridge
street hall, which was found packed
to suffocation. The order was given
to clear the hall, and when this was
done the only one of the party of
speakers left in the place was Mrs.
Flynn, the others having disappeared
at the first sign of the police.
Mrs, Flynn refused to leave the hall
unless forced to do so and she defied
the chief to place her under arrest.
This he refused to do, but asked her
to accompany him to police head
quarters, and 1t was there that the
chief told her of his determination to
prevent all meetings when out-of-
town speakers were scheduled.
"You allowed Billy Sunday to talk
in this city. and he is just as much
an agltaLOr as am Anu dnotner
thing. In all the time ! was in Pater-
son | never received a cent for my
speech making, while Sunday took
thousands of dollars out of your
city
1--WE are not discussing Sunday just
now" said the chief, I'VE are dis
cussing you and other agitators who
come into this city and stir up all
kinds of trouble among the workers
under the plea of getting them better
working conditions and wages"
Mrs. Flynn attempted to argue with
the chief regarding the strike of two
years ago and OF the peaceful manner
IN which II was conducted in COM
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