Evening star., 1916-01-08

little later they fired small ware
house. and then turned their attention
| to private property.
Mob Raids Nearest Saloon.
A saloon stood on the corner, and q
| rush was made for the door. In a
minute a shouting crowd filled the lit
tie. room and helped themselves to
what they saw. WheFTzthe looting was
complete the match was applied. and
the mob went wild Kauffman's cloth
ing store nearby was next entered. and
the stock passed out TO the constantly
growing crowd in the street by those
inside. Clerks fed for their lives. and
when the iooting was finished. the
place was fired
BY this time the mob was in frenzy.
Men danced and sang and women
| joined them. Liquor was passed
around as freely as water. and those
who had no cups Scooped il up in the
hollows of their hands. for within
half an hour other saloons had been
looted and the fire was spreading rap
idly.
Wilson avenue. the main street par
allels the railroad tracts at the foot
of the hill. and streets lead out of it
up the hill to the residence district.
For fully an hour or more the mos,
WAS content with the small shops and
aloons on the side streets, but then IL
turned its attention to the more pre-
tentious stores on Wilson avenue.
Mob Without leadership.
BY this time ii had lost all SEM
blance of leadership. and. splitting up
into bands of a dozen or more vent
madly about the work of destruction.
Saloon after saloon was broken into.
looted and fired, the flames spreading
to the other business blocks the
u h,- ind 4 ha
Iire tore it's way up the hill, and many
residences, some occupied by the riot
ers, We're burned.
Mayor W. II. Cunningham and the ten
policeman who make up the protective
force of the village carly realized the
situation was beyond them and gath
cred at the police station at the west
end of the business district or WAN
dered along the streets. unable 10 do
anything, Sheriff J. c. Umstead earlier
in the evening had been blinded tenn
porafily by red pepper thrown In his
eyes by rioter, and later conferred
with Mayor Cunningham, who admitted
he was una BILE to stop the rioting. TINS
condition the sheriff reported to gen.
Speaks. who had been sent to look over
the situation, and to Lieut.. Col. Charles
Weybrecht of Alliance. who accom-
panied 1t was then the call was sent
for state troops.
Fire Hose Cut to Pieces.
Meantime the riotinS had been in
progress for several hours. and it was
seen that the business section could
not be saved. Every minute the crowd
seemed to grow until there were hun
dreds of drink-craZed men and women
roaming the streets. The fire depart
ment had been called out at the first
alarm of fire, but the hose was qsIicNly
cut to pieces. and, helpless, they called
on the Youngstown fire department.
Chief Joseph Wallace had men and
equipment ready to send from the city,
but found it was useless to risk lives
and property as long as the mob had
the town. Scenes of the widest dis
order were everywhere enacted, and the
fires mounted higher and higher until
toward 10 o'clock Wilson avenue tho
entire length of the village was IN
flames. Absolutely no attempt was be-
ing made to extinguish the flames or
save the thousands of dollars in prop
erty being carried away or destroyed
Early in the evening the mon hau at
tackled the post office. 1t was small
building and the dozen or more men
who entered it made short work of IL.
Additional excitement. IN such were
possible was created by the report that
the mob had dragged the safe into tha
street and blown it to pieces. Later II
was stated that the men had been con-
tent with robbing the stroNg box be-