New-York tribune., 1918-04-28
City Awakes to Shame
After Casual Lynching
of Prager-lnnocent


"About this time somebody got
rope and somebody went up the tree
and passed it over limb. I only saw
somebody up on the limb. For the life
Of me I can't tell who it was.
Il led him over under the limb. and
he seemed to realize that he was to
die. He asked to pray.
1--WE let him kneel down and he
prayed in some foreign language.
did not pay much attention to it.
"Then somebody put the moose
around his neck and we pulled him up.
Just before he went up he asked to
kiss the flag again.
eyes, I put my hand on the rope.
think there were eight or ten or fifteen
others, mostly young fellows, who had
hold of it, too.
His hands were not tied when we
pulled him up and he caught hold of
the rope. He didn't say anything. but
there was funny noise in his throat.
We let him down.
"Then lot Of fellows in the crowd
told me to ask him if he had any part
ners. / didn't know just what they
meant, but I asked him and he said
three Then the crowd wanted to
know who they were. He shook his
head. Then they wanted to know if
he meant relatives, and he shook his
head. He didn't seem to want to talk
any more.
"'Well if he won't tell, string him
up!' the bunch yelled.
eve pulled him up again and let
him hang there little while. Nobody
said anything much just then. The
rope was tied to a telephone post by
five Or six of US.
They Pulled Him
Up Three Times
"After he had hung little bit, folks
seemed to begin to move away little.
Somebody walked up and pulled at his
toes. Then the bunch at the telephone
post where the rope had been tied got
nervous, too, and decided to finish it.
They pulled him up as far as he would
go and let him drop-three times-one
for the red, one for the white and one
for the blue, somebody said
II started walking home then.
Il walked up town, and when / got
to The Herald office | saw the editor
sitting in there writing, and then I
thought of the note l had in my pocket.
| didn't know how to get it to Ger
many, SO thought ] would give it to
that man.
"Then | went home It was about
o'clock then.
81 didn't sleep very well. I was kind
of restless.
Next morning thought about it a
good deal more, and thought how fool
lsh It was. / didn't talk to ANYBODY
about it, but when / found out | had
to tell about it [ made up my mind [
would tell everything I knew"
Five In Jail Now
Under Indictment
Five men who are charged with
activities in melting the mob are in
jail at the county seat of Edwardsville.
kiegel is one Of these Another is
"Popeye" Beaver saloon porter and
the half-witted butt Of the village
humor. Richard Dukes. jr, miner.
IS another of the acc~sed. A week be-
fore the lynching word came from
France Of the death of his brother,
James Dukes, an artilleryman of Per-
shlng's forces. William Brochmeier.
also under arrest, is :. labor leader.
He was recently the object of an in
vestigation by Department of Justice
agents who visited ColIinsville to look
INTO strike at the lead smelter here.
The fifth accused ringleader is Enid
hlmore, quiet, rather easy-gofng sort
OF man, who has worked for wears in
The mines.
1t is reported that about fifty moro
indictments viii be returned bv tn.
grand jury, which is still in eor-;o