The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-08-08
Fifteen KILLED
IN CHICAGO RIOTS
Mayor Thompson Calls on Cover
nor LoWden to Take
Charge.
STATE MILITIA Modified
Negroes Fire on Policemen, Who Kill
Four of Them In Return-Adjt.
Gen. Dickson in Charge Of
the Military Situation.

Chicago, July 3O.-ChicagO'S black
belt was Il battlefield Monday night.
Negroes and whites fought over an
area approximately six miles square
within two miles Of the heart of the
city. Pistols and rifles flashed and
bullets crashed through street cars
and buildings and on the streets, find
ing hundreds of victims. Police pa
trolls and hospital ambulances charged
through the mobs amid a hail of bull
lets, rescuing the wounded and recOv-
ering bodies of the dead.
The police placed the number of
dead at 10 with more than go wound
ed, many seriously. Four regiments
of National Guard infantry were
modified when Mayor William Hale
Thompson informed Governor Lowdcn
and Adjutant General Dickson he was
unable to control the situation.
The battle started when negroes in
groups of 30 and 100 began firing on
isolated policemen. One Of these was
Policeman William KrOss, one Of tho
first to be wounded. Another was Of
ficer Walter Brooks Of the mounted
squad.
Brooks, when hit, forced his horse
10 lie down and fired from behind him.
Meantime riot calls went to the Stock,
yards station, Deering station, the Fiji
tieth street station and the Cottage
Grove avenue station, and patrol loads
of bluecoats began to pour into the
battle.
The battle came as the climax of n
bitter day. Sporadic OutburStS flared
up all over the black belt during the
the situation was out of control of the
police and asked Governor Lowden to
turn out militiamen. The governor In
turn notified Adjutant General Dick.
son to mobilize all available state
troops and form them at the armories.
Before the soldiers could be notified
and gather in numbers sufficient to be
of use in quelling the disturbances the
battle at T~hirty-ffth and State streets
was under way.
The Eleventh regiment, under Col.
James Il, Burke, with It's machine
gun company, a ordered to assemble
ut the old Second infantry armOry.
1903 West Madison street; the First
reserve, under Col. A. +. Lorenzen, in
the old Eighth infantry armOry at
T~hirty-fifth and Forest avenue; the
Third reserve, under Col. Arson Bolte,
i'm the old Seventh infantry armory at
T~hirty-fifth street and Wentworth ave-
nue.. The Second reserve, under Col.
Joseph Wilson, was ordered to hold 1t.
self in readiness for assembly at a
point to be designated later.
General Dickson said he would re-
main in Chicago in charge Of the mill
tary situation. He pointed out that
the Eleventh infantry and the First
reserve regiments have machine gun
companies with experienced machine
gunners and that the line companies
Of these two regiments and the Second
and Third reserve regiments are armed
with new Springfield rifles and Krag-
Jorgenson carbines.
They all have plenty of riot I'M
munition," said General Dickson, "and
If all the rae riOtcrs on the South
side were TO combine the militiamen
would be able to handle the situation"
One report was that South side col
ored men have more than 1000 Spring
field rifles Of the type formerly used
by the government and placed on sale
throughout the city department stores
after their condemnation for governs
mem use.
This was denied by colored alder
men, but it was admitted that many
OF the negroes were possessed Of arms
of n kind or another and were pre-
pared to defend themselves against
aggression. The chief fear expressed
was that the young hotheads might
organize and start general trouble.