The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-09-29
COURT HOUSE FIRED,
NEGRO IS LYNCHED
Continued from First Page.

NEunU ID LlNU1EU
Continued from First Page.
seriousness, in which condition he still re-
manned at midnight. A corps of physi-
clans began working over him as soon
| as he was removed to the hospital. His
| face and body were badly bruised by
being dragged by the mob.
Negro Policeman Rescued.
The original members of the mob
were augmented by hundreds of others,
apparently equally determined to lynch
Brown. They yelled for their prisoner
and attempted to get into the court house.
The few police officers who had arrived
were able to keep them from breaking
in the doors for only a short while. A
negro officer was among those to re-
port for duty at the court house, but his
presence only angered the crowd. He
was the first victim of violence, his life
being saved only by the hardest kind
of a tussle by the officers. AS 1t was
he was badly beaten.
| The Sheriff then coupled up three
lines of interior fire hose and with
his deputies and some police officers at
tempted to dispense the crowd by turn
ing the water on them. Instead OF hav-
ing a quieting effect 1t brought hail of
stones and bricks. In ten minutes fifty
windows had been broken on the sputh
side of the court house and much Other
damage done. From that time on until
the negro was strung up to the pole the
vicinity for many blocks around was a
bedlam.
A small crowd of young men, none of
whom appeared to be more than 20
years old, then procured rope, which
they threw over the ledge of second
story window. One of their number
mounted the rope to the window. From
there he pulled up ladder that had
been provided and a score or more of
his companions followed. Once inside
the building they were followed by many
more, who began working their way to
the upper floors
Court House Set Ahre.
That occurred about o'clock. after
the mob had been on the scene for two
hours. From that time on panic retSned
with the crowd on the street. Thou
sands of shots were fired. The mob
surged around the block on which the
court house stands. Finally about Z
o'clock in the evening after obtaining
fuel of kerosene and tar they started a
fire in the office of the County Treas
urer, which is on the first floor and at
the northeast corner.
The first trial was failure, but an
other one few minutes later started a
flame which spread to all four floors
/ below the jail. There was no time dur
ing the first half hour, however, that
the flames could not have been easily
controlled had the firemen been permit
. ted to work. A general alarm had
called out the entire department Nc
sooner could they run a line Of hose
Z however, than 1t was cut by the mob
The fire was thus permitted to continue
without effort to subdue 1t.
The police were absolutely powerlest
to do anything except stand and watci
, the proceedings.
Shortly before midnight the fire II
) the courthouse was brought under
t control, the mob was dispensing fas
l and II was believed that the Sheriff:
force and prisoners were safe.
The lynching followed an Afternoon
/. and evening fraught with mob demon
STATIONS seldom recorded. When tn
first rumblings of a possible attemp
I TO lynch Brown were heard during tn
| forenoon Sheriff Clark called in all hi
, regular deputies and swore in number
: of others. The first act that indicated
| the mob was in earnest was parade
q up Harvey street by about fifty mel
who detrained from street cars few
V blocks from the court house. They tor
1 | up Harvey street at double quick ant
: were at the Sheriffs headquarters be
Y fore he realized what had happened
n Appeals were made to the police sta
( ton for help and a few uniformed mel
e were hurried to the place. In the mean
time the central station telephoned ever.
II man on the force and those on the Soutl
L Side to report at once. Being Sunda.
e many of the men could not be found
i The result was that several thousan'
o persons had gathered on the south sid
of the court house before the police coul'
arrive in any considerable number.
The assault with which William Brow
: was charged was committed on Agne
- Lobeck early in the week. With an cs
!, cort. crippled bsYond the point OF re
q sistance, Miss Lobeck met her assailan
q a few blocks from her home In tn
southeast part of the city. Ho held tn
l. couple up at the point of revolver
l. After robbing the young man he as
l. saulted the young woman in his pres
d ence holding revolver at the head o
l. her escort In the meantime.
.e Later Brown was arrested by tn
police and taken TO the city jail, wher
both Miss Lobeck and her escort iden
tined him as the man who committe
the deed Later 1t was stated Brow
n had made a confession of his crime. II
was taken to the county Jail, which wa
considered a safe place for his confine
y. ment Pie lynching followed.
Omaha has been on the verge OF rae
riots for several weeks, and the troubl
tonight is the elimination OF a serte
10 of fights between the whites and black
Within the past month there have bee
thirty or forty cases of attacks on whit
Ia women by negroes. and only few day
" ago a crowd OF white men locked fort
&c negroes, all said to be troublemakers. 1
~ a car ON fast train and sent thei
Ia across the State line into Wyoming
Since then It has been reported this
h. both the negroes and the white me
na were preparing for trouble and ths
he warnings had been sent to the negT
N quarters that there would be trouble
ID another negro attacksd, whits womai