The New York herald., 1922-08-17
100 POLICE QUELL
NEGRO FIGHT ON SHIP
CAPTAIN of the Smithfield Be-
tween Prayers Yells for
Force to Meet Boat.
ASKS FOR CITY NAVY ALSO
Four Prisoners Lined Up at
Rail Go Overheard and Bat
tleship Sends Help.

African golf, razors long and keen. the
sanctity OF the homes ana loved ones of
San Juan Hill. and the juice of the for
hidden juniper and prune-all these,
slngly and In wicked combinations.
helped yesterday to make the voyage or
the good ship Smithfeld Of the Keans-
burg line by far the most tumultuous
thing of TITS sort in the memory of Capt.
William b. Raynor. and the captain, il
might be said, has witnessed some ex-
ceedingly rough scenes at one time and
another.
AS the whistles were blowing for the
noon hour 1000 negroes. members OF the
families represented in the West Side
Voters League. of 2O3 West Sixty-thlrd
street, went aboard the Smithfeld at
Seventy-ninth street and Hudson River
1t was an outing that had been planned
for long time.
One of the first noises heard after
the ship left the pier, according to tie
stories told by the crew to the police,
was the rattle OF the bones against the
pine deck and the exultant war cry of
Come, seven"
Then somebody called somebody else
black something or other, and there
was fight. But ii quieted down, and
nothing else happened until the boat
reached 1920 street
Five members OF the West Side Voters
League were put off there after another
fight had been stopped by the crew.
The fighting was more or less desul-
tory until the boat drew up at Forest
View Grove. a little above Yonkers, on
the New Jersey side of the river The
passengers got off there, and for an
hour played about in the grove. the note
OF abandon growing more dominant all
the time
Then the return voyage No sooner
did the ship pull away from the grove
than somebody began shooting in the
air. Fighting started In several parts
of the ship at once. Mothers screamed
babies yelled. men cursed and shouted
and Capt. Raynor headed the ship for
Yonkers. He drew up at the pier and
called out to some deck hands.
For the love of heaven" implored
the captain. call the New York police
anl tell em to send their navy and all
their reserves Everybody on this ship
will be dead If we don't stop this fight
| ing"
When the smithfield reached Wash
ington Point, off 19Oth street the police
boat Manhattan, with Sergeant James
Ward and several policemen aboard,
came alongside and demanded peace.
The negroes cheered ami continued the
rioting. A half dozen policemen went
aboard at 132d street. They picked out
four negroes and lined them up against
the railing. One fell overheard. He
couldn't swim. The other three pris-
oners leaped over after him. A boat
from the battleship Maryland helped
rescue them.
Off Seventyninth street Capt. Ray
nor, praying all the while. maneuvered
the Smithfield until he saw that 100
policemen reserves from the West Six
ty-eighth and West Tooth street sta
tions, were lined up ready for the dis
embarkhlg. The police assisted them off
as gently as possible. spilling less than
a dozen in the water, and herded them
In lines through Seventy street to
Broadway. where most OF the negroes
turned south and made for home and
San Juan Hill.