May 2, 1914
WOMEN TRAMPLED IN UNION SQUARE RIOT
I.W.W. Clash With Police Ends 10,000 Socialists’ May Day Fete in Panic
IRON FENCE BROKEN DOWN
Terrified Crowd Flees From Danger in Wild Stampede.
There was a dreadful minute toward the close of the great Socialist May
day demonstration in Union Square, last evening, when Second Deputy Police
Commissioner Rubin's face went white a print paper.
In that minute he saw thirty feet of strong Iron fence at the east side
of the square bend like wire against the pressure of thousands of frightened
men, women and children, give way completely and sag, posts uprooted, to the
grass. He saw young girls, who had been crushed against the fence, fall with it
and lie face downward, screaming, while a wave of human beings rolled over them
and burled them from sight.
Rubin himself walled back the wave with fifty policemen that he swiftly
gathered from all about, but he and the men who stood with him were afraid to
look when the bluecoats hurled back the crowd and lifted the mass from the
girls who had been crushed and trampled under it. As things ordinarily happen
those women would have been killed or terribly injured. But by Rubin’s quick
thinking and by the best of good luck perhaps they were more frightened than
hurt. Half a minute's delay In blocking the panicky flight would certainly have
cost several lives.
Climax of Nervous Afternoon.
It was a near thing and It came as the climax of a nervous afternoon,
through every hour of which the police commanders and other men whose business
took them to the centre of the close packed crowd of 12,000 were afraid that
the demonstration would not end without bomb throwing, savage fighting and
killing.
This apprehension was not caused by the attitude, of the Socialist
organization that marched to Union Squire to celebrate the international labor
day and who had a right to the park. Their attitude was at all times peaceable
good natured and friendly toward the police. The apprehension was caused by the
hectoring, the insults and the threats from the I. W, W., the anarchists and
the roughs who cursed under no particular flag. These human adulterants of a
decent crowd were responsible for six hours for a series of fights, panics and
clubbings, and finally brought about the curious wave of fear which came near
ending the lives of the women who were swept under when the iron fence gave
way.
This occurred at 5:30 P.M. A group of Italian socialists, who were
unable to get near the pavilion from which the regular speakers were talking,
organized a meeting of their own at the north of the square and directly across
from the Everett Building in Seventeenth street. The Italians spoke from an
automobile in which Miss Caroline Dexter and other well known socialists were
sitting.
Insult Socialist Speakers
Three loud voiced, sneering men, identified by the socialists as I. W.
W. anarchists of the Berkman-O’Carroll following, shouldered to a place near
the automobile and insulted the socialist speakers vilely. The hot tempered
Italians were for leaping at them, but Miss Dexter and her friends restrained
the angry men.
Twenty or more policemen in the crowd drew together, formed a wedge and
drove for the trouble makers. These tried to run, but the solidity of the crowd
hampered them, so they turned and clawed at the policemen. The policemen were
young and they were separated from commanders, so they forgot the danger of
using clubs in the thick of a vast crowd. They let fly at the disturbers and
when I. W. W. sympathizers some distance off threatened them they charged the
sympathizers, using clubs pretty severely.
In English and Yiddish men and women screamed that the police and the
I. W W. were fighting. A panic wave started at the north side of the square and
rolled east and south so that in no time at all at least 5,000 persons were
trying to get away from the little rumpus at the north.
The crowd saw safety within the park and started that way. It moved
slowly at first and then gathered momentum. The fence halted it momentarily and
then the fence bent and gave way.
Chief Inspector Schmittberger and acting Inspector Morris, alive to the
dangers of clubbing, were struggling through the crowd trying to get at their
young policemen. Schmittberger isn't as young as he used to be, but he owns the
kind of a voice that goes with an old time cop, and above the rumble and clash
you could hear it, the German accent rising to the top in his excitement:
"No clups! No clups! Put down dose clups!"
He checked the panic at its source, but neither he nor Morris knew for
a minute or two what was going on at the fence. Only one or two policemen had
been stationed there and they were unable to stop the multitude. As good luck
would have it, Commissioner Rubin was on the spot.
All save one or two of the persons injured were hurt in this I.W.W.
precipitated panic.
Paul Bologne, who lives at 355 East 184th street was rapped
on the head by something that was hard enough to break through hair and scalp.
Richard Daly, 70 years of age, of 396 Third avenue, was bruised also.
Two Girls Hurt as Fence Falls.
Two girls were slightly hurt when they fell over the fence. They were
Jennie Lovler of 217 Henry street, who was bruised and who became hysterical,
and a girl whose fence was cut and whose hands and arms were bruised and cut.
She was taken away by friends before the police or the reporters could get her
name.
For twenty-five years May day has meant a lively afternoon in Union
Square. Yesterday the biggest crowd that ever gathered there to talk for
socialism and organized labor crowded the north and east sides of the square.
The socialist organizations had a permit to use the square for the
afternoon. They were not to assemble there until 1 P. M. Their parades were
forming at noon uptown and downtown. But the I. W, W. and the anarchists
gathered in Mulberry Bend at 11 A. M troubled the sunshine with ugly speeches
and finally marched, spilling curses and threats, for the sole purpose of
making their way to Union Square and dominating the socialist celebration. Alexander
Berkman, his bald head reddened from exposure to an unfriendly sun; Wild Joe
O'Carroll, Becky Edelsohn and Marie Ganz organized the march and stirred their
followers with speeches against the Rockefellers.
The column readied the north side of Union Square at about 11:35 A. M.
George Graff, chairman of the New York Evangelistic Committee, was presiding
over a meeting. Women were singing hymns. The I.W.W. surrounded the group and
shouted insults and curses until Mr. Graff withdrew with his shocked company.
Policemen warned the leaders to withdraw from the park. At first
Berkman, O'Carroll and the women agitators paid no attention to the warnings.
They placed a packing box at the Seventeenth street corner and prepared for
speech-making Policeman Beattie asked to see their permit Berkman and others
refused to show a permit. They had none.
Beattie then attempted to pull them from the box and a heavy cane
flickered from the crowd and crashed down on the policeman's head. His cap
saved him probably from a fractured skull. He fell to the ground. Three
policemen picked him up and stood off the crowd until squads of bluecoats came
running from every quarter. Beattie was taken to Bellevue Hospital suffering
from a scalp wound. The man that felled him was not caught, but the cane was
found on the ground. It was a heavy, silver headed stick bearing the sliver
monogram W.
News of this outbreak got to Police Headquarters in a hurry and before
1 P. M. Schmittberger was in the square frowning over 500 men in uniform and watching
the crowd grow hundreds to the minute.
The first thing he did was to take away from the I. W. W. their black
banners, announcing that he would give them back after the meeting.
Upon one of these banners "Hunger" in white letters stood out
on a field of black. Upon another, also black, was a skull and crossbones in
white, with the inscription. “Rockefeller, the Multi-murder.” Upon another
black flag was "Rockefeller is a good Christian. He shoots our women and
children."
One of the I.W.W.’s climbed to the top of an iron post in front of the
pavilion and waved the skull and cross-bones banner until police lieutenant
hauled him down.
Even after their banners were confiscated the I.W.W and anarchists held
their ground, shouting threats and curses. Marie Ganz renewed her threats of
personal violence. Berkman, the strategist of the crowd, silenced her, and
after a talk with the chief Inspector made up his mind that the I.W.W. army had
its choice of going to jail or hospital or giving up the field to the
Socialists.
When the I. W. W. column broke up and scattered most of the men in the
ranks did not go away. They wormed into the mass of Socialists later and spent
the afternoon trying to stir up anger against the police.
There were perhaps 10.000 Socialist paraders, and at least half of the
paraders were young women.
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