New-York tribune., 1918-05-30
Prominent Citizens Admit
They Watched Mob Drag
the Victim to Tree
Alibi Is Furnished
For One Defendant
Eight Others, However,
Are Identified as
Participants
Especial Dispatch to The Tribunc)

Especial Dispatch to The Tribunc)
EDWARDSVILLE, ILL.,, May 29.-The
Collinsville mob that lynchcd Robert
Prayer went quietly, rather casually.
about its work, and prominent citizens
looked on and did not interfere. The
story of the villages strange in
difference to the tragedy was written
INTO Madison County history to-day
during the trial of the eleven men ac-
cused of Prayers murder.
Witness after witness admitted fol-
lowing the crowd from the time
Prayer was taken from his jail cell until
he was hanged, and not one tried to
save the mans life. A clergyman, two
policemen, Collinsvlle alderman,
among others, testified that they had
stepped aside and watched the mob
drag it's victim off to the tree.
Attorney Bandy, counsel for defence,
failed in an attempt to exclude evi.
dence of witnesses who actually wit
messed the hanging, holding them, So
to speak, accessories before the crime
IF they stood around and watched and
l don't think they should be allowed tc
come here against my Client" he said.
The defence also tried to prevent a
repetition of the confession of Joseph
Riegel, one of the defendants, made a
month ago at the coroner's inquest
Riegel told his story in a secret hear
ing, at which only state officers were
present. Bandy charged that the man
had been coerced. but when States At.
torney Streubert showed that Riegel
! had offered to come back voluntarily
and tell anything further that oc'
Cured to him the court ruled that wit
nesses might testify from their mem
ory of the verbal confession.
Two additional defendants, Calvin
Gilmore and Enid Elmore. were pointed
out as members of the Prayer mob
This makes eight of the eleven, so far
who have been identified in the court
room. But one, William Brockmeier
to-day, was provided with an unex-
pected alibi.
During the cross examination OF
Bernard Miller, Collinsville barber
Attorney Bandy tried to bring out that
the witness was a German sympathizer
Miller saw the hanging, and was the
hrst witness naming the man supposed
to have pulled Prayer up to tae tree.
1T was Riegel who had hold of the
rope" he said. "He put his shoulder
to it and tugged as hard as he could
But it was no go. He didn't have the
weight: He found out there was moth
,I.6 UOiHS, oO lie ycIlcu 10 Cnc OCnerS
Come on, don't be slackers.' TIE
crowd grabbed the rope then, and
hoisted him up"
A daughter of Calvin Gilmore saw
her father in the mob when Prayer was
paraded barefoot before the passengers
of a St.. Louis Interurban car and
begged him to go home. This was tes-
titled by the Rev. P. G. Spangler, of
the Collinsville Baptist Church. 81
was on the car returning to Collins
vile and Miss Gilmore was in the seat
ahead of him." said the minister
'They stopped us little way out of
town and brought Prayer up with a
flag wrapped around his neck. Miss
Gilmore recognized her father and told
him to 60 back to town. | don't know
whether he did"
Spangler said that William Brockmeier
left the mob at this point and rode
back to town on the street car. Prayer
was not hanged until some time later,
and, by the testimony, Brockmeier
could not have been present at the
actual lynching. Spangler said he die
not try to reason with the crowd
Two police officers, Fred Frost and
Martin Futcheek, testified for the