Evening star., 1939-07-11

W. PA. Pickets Mass
Al Scene Of Riot
In Minneapolis
Early Closing Of Sewing
Project Forced as
200 Mill About

roIecr Forced as
200 Mill About
By tie Associated Press.
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, July IL.
"A policeman's death following
riotous scenes Monday between
striking w. P. A. workers and nom
strikers In downtown Minneapolis
brought all available police on duty
today.
Two hundred w. p. A. pickets
milled about the Minneapolis sew
ing project, scene of Mondays riot
ing, forcing 1t to close early today.
Jeering and booing, the picket ac-
tivities bought several score police
to the scene.
Meanwhile, other w. P. A. strikers
considered march on the City Hall
for later today. Police Chief Frank
Forestal sternly decreed that no
pickets would be allowed in the
building.
Night and mid-shift patrolmen
were ordered to their posts as word
spread that w. P. A. strikers plan
ned new demonstrations to protest
lengthening of the w. P. A. work
month by Congress.
Victim of Mondays violence was
40-year-old Patrolman John Gearty
Pummelled by half dozen men as
he and Officer Paul Larson tried to
put Frank Fischer, As, a non-striker,
on streetcar and get him away
from threatening crowd, Patrol
man Gearty died in a hospital Short
ly afterWard. DR.. G. w. Callerstrom
said he succumbed from coronary
sclerosis, a heart condition ag-
gravated by the beating.
Military Police Detailed.
At Fort Smelling, Army post, 20
additional military police were de-
tailed to reservation entrances after
pickets threatened workers leaving
a veterans hospital project.
In St. Paul, SO night officers were
called for day duty, with police cars
following flying squads of strikers
who roved about the city exhorting
other workers to join walkouts which
occurred on many projects as part
of the protest to Congress. No
violence occurred.
Calling for an early morning mass
meeting at the parade here, strike
leaders declared they intended to
close every w. P. A. project in Hen
nepin County. Plans also were being
shaped for march on the Mime
apolis City Hall Duluth workers
were summoned to a mass meeting
to vote on a further strike. At St.
Paul last night $500 at a mass
meeting were told by strike leaders
that all projects there would be
picketed today.
One delegation from the ST Paul
meeting was instructed to call upon
Mayor William Fallon of ST. Paul
today and demand reversal of his
declaration that there would be no
municipal relief for those leaving
W. P. A. jobs, while another was
VI OC4ed w Nioit 1ON' I1diOlO hoLdoocli
to urge him to rescind threat by
county welfare boards to deny
county aid to strikers.
From Linus GlotZbach, State w
P. A. administrator, came a state
ment that with the exception of
Minneapolis, peaceful conditions
prevailed over Minnesota and that
most projects would be operating
today, although he expected virtual
ly complete shutdown in Mime
apolis.
The disturbance which ended
fatally for Officer Gearty started
when a flying picket squad, followed
by a crowd that grew to nearly
1000 people, seized Fischer, a nom
union machinist on a w. P. A. sew
ing project, as 80 traffic police es-
corted upwards of 100 men and
women from the project
Patrolmen Gearty and Larson tried
to put him on street car. Officer
Larson said mali dozen men leaped
at them. Larson was knocked down
and Fischer and Patrolmen Gearty
roughly handled. Strikers massed
before the car, preventing the motor
man from moving it. Someone
smashed a window.
Nightsticks Used.
Police reserves rushed up, using
nightsticks and rescued the officers
and Fischer, who was taken to the
city Jail for safety while some 200
demonstrators followed to the City
Hall steps, shouting insults.
In the melee, the strikers sur
rounded the other non-strikers,
herded them to a parking lot, where
they showered them with sand, peb-
bles, sticks and broken glass. No
casualties were reported.
Earlier in the day, some IS to 100
rowing pickets had invaded a school
house where 180 persons were en-
gagged in a w. P. A. historical re-
search project and with shouts of
"close up" demanded that they leave
their jobs.