1914.05.17: POLICE FOOLED BY ITALIAN WORD

May 17, 1914

POLICE FOOLED BY ITALIAN WORD

Thought Bomb Explosion Was Threatened at Union Square

JANE EST ALSO A DOUBTFUL LINGUIST

Miss Davis Bars Anarchist from Visiting ‘Sweet Marie’ Ganz in Queens Jail.

Anarchy broke out in all its loquaciousness yesterday on a drygoods box rostrum in front of the cottages in Union Square with Alexander Berkman gathered his long haired flowing tied orators about him and ran off a three-hour harangue against government militarism, capital and every other sort of organized activity. Although it all started and ended in a talk, there was plenty of rumor about bombs.

Said the rumor, of which the police took due notice, an infernal machine was to be planted in the cellar of the cottage to blow that particular object of organized government, and whatever minions of the law might be stationed there, into smithereens, just to put some punch into the proceedings.

So seriously did the police view this rumor that the doors of the lavatory in the basement were ordered locked and an “Out of Order” sign was posted. A half dozen policemen were assigned to guard against any effort to place a bomb in the basement. It was not placed. The cottage still stands.

When Berkman was told of the bomb rumors he said: “That’s nonsense. When anything like that is going to happen the police won’t hear about it.” He snatched a handbill from a bundle which a satellite was distributing.

The bill was printed in Italian, opening with the word “Lavoratori!” in blackface letters.

“That is Italian for ‘workers,’” he said. “It doesn’t mean what the cops think it means, but maybe it gave them the idea we had designs on the lavatories in the cottage.”

Although there was no bomb, there was an explosion. It was of the verbal kind and was set off by Jane Est, who was sent to jail once for twenty days for disturbing Dr. Parkhurst’s church. Jane is such a chronic kicker when others are speaking that she took exception yesterday to one of the Italian speakers, although she is in favor of almost anything in the way of agitation.

The speaker was Pietro Allegra. He was forging ahead in Italian, swinging his arms and getting cheers from his countrymen, when all at once Jane began to wave her arms. She marched to a pile of lumber and jumped atop of it.

“This is an outrage! Here a man comes from another country and finds fault with our government. He says Mayor Mitchel’s throat ought to be cut. He ought to be driven out!” and she launched into a Julius Harburgerian flag oration.

Alexander Berkman has been barred from visiting “Sweet Marie” Ganz, who is serving a six months sentence in the Queens County jail for disorderly conduct for threatening harm to John D. Rockefeller, Jr.