Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-10-06
Widespread Destruction Of
City Planned, and Only
Troops and American / -egion
Saved the Day.
ISSUES Statement 81
IN CITY OF chicago
Steps Taken to ReorganiN
Police Force, He Asserts
and to Provide Trained In
spector to Help Men.

Chicago, Oct. 5.-Speaking to-
night before the Sunday Evening
club. Ger. Leonard Wood told OF
the Omaha situation and said.
"The troops and the American lie
gion were all that stood between til
local authorities and the destruction
Of the city. 1t is now known thai
plans had been laid for widespread
destruction, but aid was at hand"
After recounting the acts of ths
mob, the general continued:
Just one agency was to blame for
this-tha. was the l. w. W., and its
red flag, the soviet organization OF
this country =. These are the
enemies of the American home.
Their doctrines lead to ruin"
Take Away Troops.
Within a few days Gen. Leonard
Wood will relinquish military con-
troll of Omaha, where a week ago
tonight men rioted, lynched a negro
attempted to hang Mayor Smith and
burned the court house. the general
said in statement issued tonight.
Omaha was quiet when he departed
Saturday night, he said.
Thea general blamed the Organ
lied elements of disorder" for the
rioting, but praised the efficiency of
the regular troops, and especially
the members of the American Le-
gion who volunteered to aid the
authorities. His statement follows:
u left Omaha last night. The
city was quiet and orderly and func-
tioning under military control
throughout its regular civil machin-
cry, although the military authori-
ties furnished the necessary sup
port for the maintenance of order
and the protection of life and prop
erty, the enforcement of arrests and
the carrying out of orders concern
ing lawlessness.
Order Again Restored.
"The troops have rendered
prompt, excellent and most efficient
service. Order has been restored
life and property protected, a large
number of leaders of the mob which
burned the negro, hanged the may
or and sacked and burned the court
house arrested, and the authority Of
the police reestablished. All this
without firing shot or taking
life.
Steps have been taken to reor-
ganize the police force, properly to
equip it with arms and transporta.
ton, to add materially to its
strength, and to provide trained
inspector to aid in training and re.
organization.
"The people of the city have co.
operated we'll. There was evidence
Of an extensive effort to so terrcrize
the officials and the citizens gensr-
ally that there would be no at.
tempts made to prevent wholesale
looting and destruction.
Excuse is Provided.
"The original disorder, which
arose fom a specific cause--namely
the assault on a white woman by
negro-was seized upoh by the or.
ganized elements of disorder, which
are to be found in the population o,
every large city, ever ready to seize
upon any incident which will incite
mob violence, with a view to over
turning the constituted authorities of
government and establishing a reign
Of terror under mob rule.
Labor organizations came out
squarely on the side of law and
order.
Praise for Legion.
The American Legion responded
promptly in support of the civil au-
thorities, and more than 400 of them
were deputized as special police.
These were all we'll trainedmen who
had taken part in the late war and
were, all of them, Representatives cit
liens of Omaha. These men fur
nished a splendid illustration of
Amer.can citizens rising insdefense
OF their homes: all the. more loyal
Continued on Page Two, Column Fhrsea
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