The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1919-11-21
|. v. v. KILL FOUR
IN LEGION PARADE
DEADLY vOLIEY POURED FROM
ROOFS OVER HEADS or PA
TRIoTlc CITIZENS
CROWD HANGS ONE OF BAND
Lights of City Are Cut off and Mob
Removes l. w. w. Secretary From
Jail and Hangs Him to Bridge
Building Wrecked by Crowd

Centralia, Wash, Nov. -Four
American legion men are dead; three
are wounded. one perhaps fatally;
Britt Smith. secretary Of the Centralia
local Of the !. w. W.. Is hanging dead
from the bridge over the Chehalis
river, and the l. W. w. hall Is Quilted
us the result of an /. w. w. attack
on an ArAiistice day parade conducted
by the American legion In this city
yesterday.
Five hours after the yolleys were
fired from the l. w. w. headquarters
and adjoining buildings, q mob cut off
the lights Of the city, broke the Jail
door. snatched Smith from the Jail
and rushed him In an automobile
through mud and water to the bridge
three quarters Of mile from town.
The l. w. w. hall was fired by the
mob.
The dead are:
Warren Grimm. attorney. lieutenant
with the American forces In Siberia.
Arthur McElfresh, soldier in France
for IS months.
Ben Casagranda, Greek bootblsck.
and soldier with the 9lst division.
Dale Hubbard, former soldier.
Britt Smith. hanged by the mob.
The wounded are:
John Earl Watt. ex-service man, per-
haps fatally wounded.
Emery Coleman. shot through the
leg. wound not serious.
Eugene Philger, Chehalls, ex-service
man, not serious.
The Armistice day parade passed
through crowded streets. led by Capt
David Livingston. who served In
France with the 181st infantry, the
Washington regiment. AS the head Of
the line rounded into Tower avenue.
they marked time, awaiting the rear
Of the line to catch up. Fully. 100 men
were In line In platoon formation. The
last end Of the line had just turned
on Tower avenue when the desultory
| fire opened.
The shots seemed to come from sew.
| erai directions, but the onlookers be-
lievcd the most of the shots were
fired from |. W. w. headquarters In
the old Roderick hotel and from the
| Avalon hotel, across the street.
| McElfresh fell first, shot through
the head. Grimm dropped an instant
later and Casagranda put his hand to
his stomach and groaned us spiteful
| shot rang out.
| The crowd was not appalled, by the
shooting, but started Immediately for
the l. w. W.. who were scattering from
the different exits of the building
Smith started out OF the rear Of the
building, working an automatic which
damned. He started on a run through
a yard with crowd following.
Coleman was among those In the
lead. Smith was firing all the time
his gun working perfectly by this
time. He appeared to have plenty OF
ammunition. Coleman dropped with
u shot through the leg and the GROVE
followed. The fleeing l. w, w. secre
tary was chased. to the Skokokum
chuck river, where he leaped dowr
the bank with Hubbard close behlnt
him. Seeing that he could not swim
the stream, Smith turned back ant
dashed up the bank, where he wa!
confronted by Hubbard. Then Smltl
fired three times into Hubbard's body
A moment later the gunman was over
powered by Howard Barner. Wlthou
ceremony Smith was hauled to jail
from which he was later taken by tn
mob and hanged.
Bob Burrows, farmer living nea
the bridge. Is the best witness to tn
hanging.
: "The man was struggling betweel
the men who held him." said Burrows
! "They worked without word. say
them stop not far from the end of til
: bridge nearest the city and throw
, rope over the crossbeam. The bod
went over with thud and then
shot was fired. Then more shots.
stood distance away white perhap
} 10 shots In all were fired close to tn
body
: A bullet went through Smiths nee
: close To where the moose had torn
. gaping hole In the flesh burrows sal
: that the crowd went away in their N,
!. chimes without a word.
Soldiers and sailors, all heavil
e armed, guarded the Jail during IL
8 night The II I. W. w prisoners ther
r paced their cells nersousiy. Anon
+ the prisoners was Elmer Smith, n
o terney for the I. W. w. crowd. VII
r was arrested I'm his office by w. l
, Graynm. principal Of the high schoe
y and a crowd of boy Scouts.