Montana labor news., 1932-12-01
Hoover Police Army
Triumphs Over Children
fcontlnued from Page Onel

of public buildings in the neighbor-
hood of the executive mansion, or
boldly exposing itself to the peril
of the children's possible approach,
on the sidewalks. Motorcycle police
raced back and forth to outlying
stations, bringing news of the ad-
vance of nearly rs youngsters from
Baltimore. Shock troops on motor
cycles met the delegation at the
District line and escorted it to its
hall. From there, after lunch, the
cavalcade followed two taxicabs in
which six children and two adults
DR.. Emil Conason and Miss Ger
trude Haessler of New York, social
worker-started to the White House,
carrying their petition for hunger
relief for the children of the desti-
tute unemployed.
A crowd of possibly 1000 sight
seers, drawn to the park opposite
the White House by advance pub
licity on the part of Police Super
intendent Brown as to the danger of
overthrow of public order, had wait
ed impatiently for an hour before
the taxicabs came in sight. Motor
cops were driving on either side, and
policemen afoot came rushing from
their hiding places. When the first
taxi tried to turn in at the gate of
the White House enclosure, motor
cycle was run across its path, and
dozen police grabbed DR.. Conason
as he jumped out. At first he was
told he was not under arrest, but
when he announced that he had a
petition for Hoover and tried to walk
through the gate, he was pulled over
to a patrol box.
Miss Haessler, hearing Conason
protest in vain that he had a con-
stitutional right to present a petit
tion, got out of the second taxi and
tried to come to his defense. Po-
lice seized her. She fell on the
sidewalk and refused to get up. Po-
lice picked her up and carried her
to the curb, to await the patrol
wagon. The six children got into
the wagon after the prisoners, but
were taken out by the police, who
ordered them sent to a receiving
home. Miss Haessler pleaded that
she be not separated from her
charges, and Mrs. Pauline Gipnick
took charge Of them. The bluecoats,
however, were not satisfied with
this disposal of the dangerous IL
year-olds, three of whom were girls.
They arrested Mrs. Gipnick and sent
the children to the House of Deten-
tion. A few hours later they re-
leased them to the misery march"
committee in order that they might
be returned to their homes.
Satisfied with fine days work,
the $50 police gradually Gained and
cooled down. The sightseers went
back to their dinners. The news
papermen got copies Of the petition
from the committee, which directed
a return drive to Baltimore at night,
after rally in their hall in the
Negro quarter. President Hoover
and his holiday guests inside the
big executive mansion were exultant-
ly reported in the local papers to
have been "undisturbed" by the
'riot."
Next morning Miss Haessler and
Mrs. Gipnick were fined $40 each
and sentence was suspended, in po-
lice court, on the charge of disorder
ly conduct. DR.. Conason was re-
leased on S25 bail for later trial
The Negro taxi driver, accused of
running past red lights while under
police escort, was held for trial Nov.
30. Three women and one man who
had been arrested the day before
Thanksgiving for soliciting contribu-
tions for the misery march" of the
children, were released on personal
bonds. Theodore Richards, Negro,
arrested on a disorderly charge dur
ing the scramble at the White House
gate, had still to be arraigned.
Police higher-ups disclosed that a
squad of 40 men had been secretly
practicing for more than week
before Thanksgiving the hurling Of
gas bombs and other tactics of mob
quelling. Other police branches had
been gathering data on the Com
munist-led hunger marchers now con-
verging on the capital from the west
and northwest. This demonstration
by the children was looked upon as
a perilous forerunner of another in
vasion such as that of the National
Hunger March of one year ago
when all went peacefully and not
even a marcher was arrested or