Evening star., 1932-07-29
From Riot to Rout


TINE following chronological ac-
count of the clash between the
bonus marchers and the police
Il and soldiers yesterday and last
night covers the events from
the first attempted eviction on lower
Pennsylvania avenue in the morning
through the final Army drive which
routed the veterans from Camp Marks,
on the Anacostia flats.
100 Veterans Evicted.
| Supported by an opinion from the
| Attorney General, the police and
! Treasury officials descended on tho
veterans encamped at Third street and
| Pennsylvania avenue at 10 O'Clock
Thursday morning and evicted 100 Oh
them.
| The occupants OF the building hao
! withstood eviction for II days while
/ the question OF authority to put them
! out had been discussed by Government
and District officials
The streets around the building.
which is in the middle of the 300 block
, Of Pennsylvania avenue, swarmed with
thousands of spectators and about LOU
! Of the bonus marchers who we're occupy
ing billets in other portions of the block,
Although warned to get out at 10
o'clock. the men had decided at a
meeting previously they would not
move and announced the police or
whoever was going to evict them, coulo
come and get them"
The 100 men comprising the Texas
delegation. which has been occupying
the three-floor partly demolished build
ing. gathered in the building and waited
70 ha cd f1pQnUhllp ADOllt
100 police had been brought to the
scene by Gen GlaSsford. rope was
stretched around the building, all spec
tators and bonus marchers cleared away
and the men we're ordered out. They
refused to do so, so squad OF SIX
Treasury agents. each agent with a
guard of two policemen. accompanied by
Assistant District Attorney John FINELY
| and Gen. Glassford, entered the build
ing
One of the Treasury men announced
that he had come to take charge OF the
| Co. which has the contract to raze it.
About q dozen men on the ground moor
! were led out peaceably one by one, Dy
Treasury agents, fianked by their police
guards.
Woman Is Led Out.
The third man to go out was Jerry
Wilfred, commander Of the 9Th Regl-
ment. Bonus Army, in charge of the
entire Pennsylvania avenue camp. He
went along peaceably amid the cheers
of the l,50o watching veterans, and took
seat on a rock pile nearby to watch
the eviction go on. Among those on
the ground floor was the only woman Ill
the building, Mrs. Mary Brown of Los
Ana, Calf who went smilingly out on
! the arm of a Treasury agent.
The ground floor cleared, the Treasury
agents went to the second floor, where
! they encountered their first opposition
A colored veteran, who refused to give
his name, was lying on the floor and
refused to get up when a treasury man
! took him by the arm. TWO agents
started to drag him cut, ard ne re-
sisted. Fihelly Immediately ordered the
mans arrest. and fighting wildly with
three policemen. he was carried down a
long flight of stairs and out to a waiting
patrol wagon.
AS they arrived on the second land
ing of the partly demolished building,
police removed from the foot Of one
! of the tWoscore beds in the place a
| large basketful of brickbats, covered
over with paper.
And so, for more than an hour. one
! by one the veterans were led out by
Treasury officials, some carrying boxes
| others pals others nondescript bundles
of personal belongings. all greeted with
cheers from the watching veterans.
Waters Pleads for Evacuation.
The eviction was preceded by q
spirited meeting, held in an impro-
vised theater in the middle Of the
block. Shortly after 9 o'clock a bugle
called the veterans to assembly, and
| Comdr. Waters took the rostrum and
| made an impassioned plea for the vet
erans to gradually evacuate the area
and concentrate at Camp Bartlett.
The group was sullen and frequently
heckled Waters with such cries a.
! What do you think we are-chllorenE
Give us our bonus, Let EN- come aIc
take us away" Wen hght Vhe "iiol'
damn works." and so forth.
| Waters denied that he was backing
down or surrendering in any way tc
either the United States Government
or the local authorities. .
"If any of YOU are of the opinion tnat
Won can't be put out Of the District
you're kidding yourself" he declared
| ats ali right to holler what you'll dc
and what YOU won't do. I haven't any
mower or desire to force you to DO any
thing. I've defied every constituted au-
thority for you men. I've found you
can get away with detylng ponce ano
city authorities. Glasstoro ana ms p po,
licenen are pretty good fellows, Dul
when you start defying the Federal au-
thorities, which don't take any con-
sideration of the human element, you're
going to get licked. We can't lick the
limited States Government. We can't
physically fight the Government. II
yoiI stav here you're going to get mar
! tiaI law, and be chased out of the Dis
trict of Columbia and if you don't
think so you're crazy
"WilI Come Back, Too"
There's always such a thing as out.
whiting the Government, but wher
United States troops are called to escort
me out, I'm going out, but I'm coming
back, too. I'm going to be the first mar
| they place under arrest, Wien MARTA
laws declared, and Ill be tried by q
court martial
Waters then pleaded with his mer
10 RaJnST ali IN one place at camp bar
lett where permanent blllets could be
built and the men entrench themselves
for long, hard siege.
He said he had the money to builc
semi-permanent shelters for at leas
200 men Immediately at Camp Bartlett
He said the money comes from a Wash.
ington woman who has plenty" HI
then read the message sent him BY
Gen GlasSford, bearing the order o.
the Treasury Department that the frs
building scheduled to be razed bt
evacuated, beginning at 10 o'clock
Closing his speech, he asked the men
will you move, or won't you?"
A loud chorus OF Noes" went up
| ord while another veteran Il Knel