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Full text of "Riot at East St. Louis, Illinois : hearings before the Committee on Rules, House of Representatives, Sixty-fifth Congress, first session, on H.J. res. 118, August 3, 1917"

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65-l-H R935r The  person  charging  this  material  is  re- sponsible for  its  return  to  the  library  from which  it  was  withdrawn  on  or  before  the Latest  Date  stamped  below. Theft,    mutilation,    and    underlining    of    books    are    reasons for    disciplinary    action    and    may    result   in    dismissal    from the  University. To  renew  call  Telephone  Center,  333-840O UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN o  i  1 1987 JUN  3  0  2ND JUL 1 3  2WO MAR  0  4 L161— O-1096 RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.  LOUIS,  ILLINOIS HEARINGS BEFORE THE  COMMITTEE  ON  RULES HOUSE  OF  EEPIIESENTATIVES SIXTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS FIRST  SESSION ON H.  J.  RES.  118 AUGUST  3,  1917 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT  PRINTING   OFFICE 1917 **  jt^f RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.  LOUIS,  ILL.,  JULY  2,  1917. COMMITTEE  ox  RULES, HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, Washington,  I),  f .,  August  3,  1917. The  committee  met  at  10.30  o'clock  a.  in.,  Hen.  Edward  W.  Pou (chairman)  presiding. The  following  other  members  were  present :  Mr.  Campbell,  Mr. Foster,  Mr.  Garrett,  Mr.  Harrison,  Mr.  Kelly,  Mr.  Riordan,  Mr. Schall,  Mr.  Snell,  and  Mr.  Wood. The  committee  had  under  consideration  the  following  resolution: [House  Joint  Resolution  118,  Sixty-fifth  Congress,  first  session.] JOINT  RESOLUTION  Creating  a  joint  committee  from  the  membership  of  the  Senate Committee  on  the  Judiciary  and  the  House  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  to  investigate the  causes  that  led  to  the  murdering,  the  lynching,  the  burning,  and  the  drowning  of innocent  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  East  Saint  Louis,  Illinois,  on  July  second, nineteen  hundred  and  seventeen  ;  whether  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United Q  States  were  violated  ;  and  what  legislation,  if  any,  is  needed  to  prevent  like  outrages  in the  State  of  Illinois  and  other  States  and  Territories  of  the  United  States. N> ^Whereas  on  the  night  of  July  second,  and  at  the  city  of  East   Saint  Louis, -    Illinois,  a  number  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  were  beaten,  burned,  shot, drowned,  and  hanged,  resulting  in  the  murdering  of  many  of  them,  as  well  as <\    the  destruction  of  much  property,  by  the  mob  of  murderers ;  and ^Whereas  it  is  evident  that  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  State  of  Illinois, ^jT     the  county  of  Saint  Glair,  Illinois,  and  the  city  of  East  Saint  Louis,  Illinois, l  \  were  either  unable  or  miserably  failed  to  protect  life  and  property  as  afore- V)    said ;  and tVWhereas  other  like  instances  of  murdering  and  lynching  have  occurred  in  the State  of  Illinois  and  other  States  of  the  United  States,  due  either  to  the  lack -^     of  law  and  order  or  the  failure  of  its  officials  to  do  their  sworn  duty  in  the protection  of  life  and  property  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  of  the ^S    United  States:  Therefore  be  it. l%.  Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States ."So/  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  Jxidiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate .xiand  House  of  Representatives,  through  a  joint  subcommittee  to  consist  of  five ^Senators  and  five  Representatives,  who  shall  be  selected  by  the  President  of  the ^Senate  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  respectively,  be,  and they  hereby  are,  appointed  to  investigate  the  causes  that  led  to  said  lynchings, the  names  of  the  parties  who  instigated  and  incited  the  mob,  the  names  of  the mob  thft  committed  the  crimes  aforesaid,  whether  the  State,  .county,  and  city authorities  did  their  duty  in  endeavoring  to  protect  life  and  property  as  afore- said, whether  any  laws  of  the  United  States  were  violated,  and  what  further laws,  if  any,  are  needed  to  prevent  like  lynchings  in  the  State  of  Illinois  and other  States  of  the  United  States,  with  authority  to  sit  during  the  recess  of Congress  and  with  power  to  summon  witnesses,  to  administer  oaths,  and  to require  the  various  departments,  officials,  and  other  Government  agencies,  as well  as  State,  county,  and  city  officials,  to  furnish  such  information  and  render such  assistance  as  may,  in  the  judgment  of  the  joint  subcommittee,  be  deemed desirable;  to  appoint  necessary  experts,  clerks,  and  stenographers,  and  to  do whatever  is  necessary  for  a  full  and  comprehensive  investigation,  study,  and inquiry  of  the  subject,  and  report  to  Congress  on  or  before  the  second  Monday in  January,  nineteen  hundred  and  eighteen ;  that  the  sum  of  $50,000,  or  so  much thereof  as  is  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  resolution  and  to  pay 4  BIOT   AT    EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. the  necessary  expenses  of  the  subcommittee  and  its  members,  is  hereby  appro- priated out  of  any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated.  Said appropriation  shall  be  immediately  available,  and  shall  be  paid  out  on  the  audit and  order  of  the  chairman  or  acting  chairman  of  said  subcommittee,  which audit  and  order  shall  be  conclusive  and  binding  upon  all  departments  as  to the  correctness  of  the  accounts  of  such  subcommittee. STATEMENT  OF  HON.  LEONIDAS  C.  DYER,  A  REPRESENTATIVE  IN CONGRESS  FROM  THE  STATE  OF  MISSOURI. Mr.  DTER.  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I  have asked  you  gentlemen  to  meet  to  consider  this  resolution,  No.  118,  be- cause of  the  fact  that  I  believe  that  something  must  be  done  so  far  as the  situation  is  concerned  with  special  reference  to  the  city  of  East St.  Louis,  111.,  and  also  as  it  affects  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  which is  immediately  across  the  river.  Conditions  which  arose  there  and the  things  which  happened,  and  with  which  you  gentlemen  are in  a  measure  conversant,  have  caused  hundreds  and  hundreds  of these  people  to  seek  our  side,  the  St.  Louis  (Mo.)  side,  of  the  river y and  they  have  to  be  escorted  back  and  forth  to  and  from  their  work on  the  St.  Louis  side  with  armed  guards  in  order  that  they  may  not be  assaulted. The  CHAIRMAN.  Does  that  continue  up  to  the  present  time? Mr.  DYER.  That  continues  up  to  the  present  time. The  Government  has  important  contracts  with  concerns  in  East St.  Louis,  111.,  for  the  manufacture  of  certain  things.  These  people are  under  contract  with  the  Government  to  furnish  these  supplies, and  the  only  way  that  they  can  do  it  is  to  send  their  armed  guards across  the  river  to  the  Missouri  side  to  bring  the  people  over  and then  escort  them  back  after  work  is  over.  They  dare  not  stay  in East  St.  Louis,  111.,  on  account  of  the  conditions  there. Mr.  KELLY.  Are  these  strike  breakers  who  escort  them  back  and forth  ? Mr.  DYER.  No ;  they  are  not  strike  breakers.  Mr.  Rodenberg,  who is  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  will  probably  verify  what  I  have to  say.  Some  time  ago  there  was  a  strike  on  with  the  packing houses  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  East  St.  Louis,  111.,  and  probably  some other  concerns.  The  men  who  were  working  in  these  packing  houses were  foreigners,  and  with  few  exceptions  none  of  them  were  citizens of  the  United  States.  They  went  on  a  strike. My  information  Avas  that  it  was  not  with  reference  to  better  wages or  to  better  hours,  but  to  some  matter  connected  with  some  of  the leaders  of  the  union.  At  least,  they  went  on  a  strike,  and  it  made necessary  the  employment  of  others.  The  packing  houses  and  other concerns  where  these  men  had  been  working  who  were  on  strike, sought  labor  elsewhere,  and  amongst  the  negroes  of  St.  Louis,  and other  places,  probably.  These  men  went  to  work  in  these  packing houses  and  have  been  working  there  in  St.  Louis  and  in  East  St. Louis.  These  men  wrho  Avere  on  a  strike  have  been  acting  badly  in St.  Louis  and  in  East  St.  Louis  ever  since  that  happened. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  How  long  have  the  negroes  been  at  work  in  the  fac- tories there? Mr.  DYER.  I  think  probably  nearly  two  years. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  In  place  of  the  strikers  ? RIOT  AT   EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  5 Mr.  DYER.  Yes;  they  have  been  at  work  there  now  for  nearly  two years. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  Is  this  a  two-year-old  strike  ? Mr.  DYER.  These  men  went  on  a  strike  in  these  packing  houses  some- thing like  two  years  ago,  and  when  they  could  not  get  the  men  back that  they  had  had  there,  they  put  in  the  negroes  in  various  depart- ments, and  they  have  been  working  there  since,  satisfactorily,  so  far as  I  know;  and  the  conditions  became  such  that  in  East  St.  Louis the  things  happened  over  there  with  which  you  gentlemen  are  con- versant. I  have  visited  out  there  and  have  interviewed  a  number  of people,  and  talked  with  a  number  who  saw  the  murders  that  were committed.  One  man  in  particular  who  spoke  to  me  is  now  an  officer in  the  United  States  Army  Reserve  Corps,  Lieut.  Arbuckle,  who  is here  in  Washington  somewhere,  he  having  come  here  to  report  to  the Adjutant  General. At  the  time  of  these  happenings  he  was  not  in  the  employ  of  the Government,  but  he  was  there  on  some  business  in  East  St.  Louis. He  said  that  he  saw  a  part  of  this  killing,  and  he  saw  them  burning railway  cars  in  yards,  which  were  waiting  for  transport,  filled  with interstate  commerce.  He  saw  members  of  the  militia  of  Illinois  shoot negroes.  He  saw  policemen  of  the  city  of  East  St.  Louis  shoot  ne- groes. He  saw  this  mob  go  to  the  homes  of  these  negroes  and  nail boards  up  over  the  doors  and  windows  and  then  set  fire  and  burn them  up.  He  saw  them  take  little  children  out  of  the  arms  of  their mothers  and  throw  them  into  the  fires  and  burn  them  up.  He  saw the  most  dastardly  and  most  criminal  outrages  ever  perpetrated  in this  country,  and  this  is  undisputed.  And  I  have  talked  with  others  ; and  my  opinion  is  that  over  500  people  were  killed  on  this  occasion. The  CHAIRMAN.  Practically  all  colored  people? Mr.  DYER.  All  colored  people,  Mr.  Chairman;  and  without  charge of  violating  any  law  to  justify  it ;  nothing  at  all ;  and  the  only  charge against  them  was  that  they  were  working  in  these  places. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  And  had  been  for  two  years  ? Mr.  DYER.  And  had  been  for  some  two  years ;  and  these  other  men who  were  on  a  strike  had  not  been  able  to  get  their  places  back. The  CHAIRMAN.  Perhaps  you  would  rather  not  answer  this  just  at this  time,  but  I  would  like  to  know  if  the  State  of  Illinois  has  taken any  action  to  punish  these  outrages,  or  has  there  been  nothing  done about  those  500  people  murdered  in  open  daylight,  in  the  presence, necessarily,  of  some  witnesses?  It  seems  to  me  that  some  action would  have  been  started  to  punish  the  perpetrators. Mr.  DYER.  If  you  will  permit,  I  will  ask  Mr.  Rodenberg  to  answer that  question  in  a  minute. Mr.  FOSTER.  Before  you  proceed  further,  will  you  answer  this? It  was  reported,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  true  or  not,  in the  daily  newspapers — there  were  two  outrages,  I  believe  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  May  28  and  July  30. Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes.  It  was  reported  that  the  last  outbreak  was started  first  by  the  killing  of  a  policeman. Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  think  I  can  give  you  details  very  fully  about that.  I  have  it  here. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  just  wanted  to  inquire  about  that. 6  KIOT  AT    EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Mr.  DYER.  I  have  not  in  any  way  endeavored  to  embarrass  the  offi- cials of  the  Government,  if  they  were  trying  to  do  something  in  this matter.  I  took  this  matter  up  with  the  President,  and  on  July  20 I  received  from  him  this  letter,  which  I  am  permitted  to  read  to  you : THE  WHITE  HOUSE, Washington,  July  28,  1917. MY  DEAR  MR.  DYER  :  I  have  your  letter  of  yesterday  with  the  accompanying papers  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  returning. The  Attorney  General  and  I  have  been  giving  a  great  deal  of  thought  to  the situation  in  East  St.  Louis,  and  the  United  States  district  attorney  there,  as well  as  special  agents  of  the  Department  of  Justice,  have  been  at  work  gathering information  to  enable  us  to  determine  whether  any  Federal  statute  has  been violated.  Up  to  this  time  I  am  bound  in  candor  to  say  that  no  facts  have  been presented  to  us  which  would  justify  Federal  action,  though  it  is  conceivable that  a  condition  which  would  justify  it  may  develop. I  am  informed  that  the  attorney  general  of  the  State  of  Illinois  has  gone  to East  St.  Louis  to  add  his  efforts  to  those  of  the  officials  of  the  county  and  city in  pressing  prosecutions  under  the  State  laws.  The  representatives  of  the Department  of  Justice  are  so  far  as  possible  lending  aid  to  the  State  authori- ties in  their  efforts  to  restore  tranquility  and  guard  against  further  outbreaks. I  need  not  tell  you  how  much  anxiety  the  whole  matter  has  given  me.     It  is a  very  serious  thing  for  the  whole  Nation  that  anything  of  the  sort  that  hap- pened in  East  St.  Louis  should  be  possible. Cordially  and  sincerely,  yours, WOODBOW  WILSON. Hon.  L.  C.  DYER, House  of  Representatives. I  talked  with  the  Assistant  Attorney  General,  Mr.  Fitts,  who  has been  looking  after  this  matter  specially.  He  told  me  that  so  far  he has  not  found  any  way,  or  that  there  is  any  jurisdiction,  for  the Federal  officials  to  go  into  this  matter.  I  spoke  to  him  of  this  reso- lution and  asked  him  what  judgment  he  had  touching  it,  and  if  he had  any  suggestions,  or  whether  it  would  be  improper,  so  far  as  the Department  of  Justice  was  concerned,  to  take  it  up.  He  said  it would  not,  and  that  in  his  opinion  this  was  the  only  thing  that  could be  done,  and  that  he  thought  possibly  such  an  investigation  might bring  out  facts  that  would  justify  the  Government  in  taking  some action  in  the  matter. Mr.  FOSTER.  Let  me  ask  you  this,  if  you  will :  Have  you  communi- cated with  the  governor  of  Illinois  in  reference  to  this  matter  to know  what  he  has  done  ? Mr.  DYER.  I  have  not. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  may  want  to  file  some  communications  from  the  gov- ernor of  Illinois. Mr.  DYER.  I  will  state,  Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of  the  com- mittee, that  I  have  here  a  number  of  letters  from  business  men  of East  St.  Louis,  in  different  lines  of  business,  and  the  sum  and  sub- stance of  all  of  these  letters  is  to  the  effect  of  this,  which  I  will  read : Regarding  the  recent  trouble  in  our  city,  will  state  that  in  our  opinion  the matter  is  far  from  being  settled ;  in  fact,  believe  only  deferred  because  of  the presence  of  the  militia,  and  unless  a  drastic  investigation  is  made  there  will  be serious  trouble  in  store  for  us.  We  urge  a  Federal  investigation  into  the  re- cent riot,  and  favor  the  bringing  of  Judge  Landis  to  this  city  to  make  an investigation. That  is  signed  by  the  Pure  Carbonic  Co.  I  have  similar  letters  of all  these  concerns. With  reference  to  Judge  Landis,  I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Fitts,  of the  Department  of  Justice,  that  Judge  Landis  is  not  available  for RIOT   AT  EAST    ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  7 assignment  to  East  St.  Louis,  111.  Some  other  judge  has  been  as- signed there. Mr.  FOSTER.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  circumstances  of his  holding  court  there  some  time  ago  ? Mr.  DYER.  I  saw  in  the  paper  where  he  had  been  there.  I  make no  request  myself. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  know,  but  I  thought  possibly  you  had  observed what  he  said  at  the  time  he  held  court  there — when  he  held  court  in place  of  Judge  Wright,  who  was  then  sick  and  who  I  believe  has since  died. Mr.  DYER.  He  has  since  died.  As  I  understand,  there  has  been another  assignment  of  Judge  Humphrey,  and  Judge  Landis  could not  be  sent  there.  But  that  is  a  mere  side  issue. Mr.  Chairman,  these  colored  women  are  here  representing  a  colored organization  of  the  United  States;  also  petitioning  you  for  an  in- vestigation for  the  purpose  of  trying  to  find  some  means  and  meas- ures that  will  protect  the  lives  of  the  people  living  and  working  and employed  in  East  St.  Louis. Mr.  FOSTER.  Let  me  ask  you  this  question  before  you  finish:  Do you  know  when  the  importation  of  colored  people  from  the  South commenced  to  East  St.  Louis,  111.  ? Mr.  DYER.  I  do  not. Mr.  FOSTER.  You  do  not  know  anything  about  this;  never  saw anything  about  it  in  the  paper? Mr.  DYER.  I  do  not  know.  If  I  did  see  it  brought  up,  I  do  not remember  it  now. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  did  not  know  but  what  you,  living  right  across  the river,  wTould  have  noticed  it. Mr.  DYER.  If  I  did,  I  did  not  pay  any  particular  attention  to  it, and  it  has  escaped  my  mind. Mr.  FOSTER.  You  do  not  know  how  many  were  carried  in  there  ? Mr.  DYER.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  know,  really,  anything  about  it. Mr.  FOSTER.  You  do  not  know  the  reasons  why  great  numbers  were brought  to  East  St.  Louis? Mr.  DYER.  No,  sir;  I  do  not. Mr.  KELLY.  What  trouble  was  there  before  these  two  last  out- breaks? Had  there  been  any  trouble  in  the  two  years  before? Mr.  DYER.  So  far  as  East  St.  Louis  is  concerned  I  do  not  know; but  over  in  St.  Louis  the  packing  houses  have  been  having  more  or less  trouble  ever  since  they  first  put  negroes  in  there.  In  fact,  they had  tu  employ  men  to  guard  and  protect  their  plants  and  keep  these men  from  injuring  them  and  burning  them. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  am  trying  to  get  this  information  because  I  know that  was  a  horrible  thing,  and  everybody  recognizes  it.  and  that  that ought  not  to  occur  again ;  but  I  would  like  to  know  whether  you  can tell  the  committee  whether  these  colored  people  were  imported  from the  South  in  order  to  take  the  places  of  strikers  in  East  St.  Louis,  in large  numbers,  beginning,  as  you  say,  some  time  ago.  There  is  not any  question  but  what  they  were  imported  in  there,  I  guess.  Nobody denies  that. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  Is  that  any  excuse?  Even  if  they  had  been,  that wTould  justify  the  inhumanity  of  those  murders? Mr.  FOSTER.  No;  not  a  bit.  That  does  not  give  them  any  excuse for  having  killed  or  injured  them. 8  KIOT  AT   EAST  ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. The  CHAIRMAN.  Several  colored  people  have  written  me  denying the  fact  that  this  importation  occurred  immediately  before  this killing. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  am  just  trying  to  get  the  facts. The  CHAIRMAN.  Yes;  I  know  you  want  to  get  the  facts. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  do  not  know  that  they  did. Mr.  RIORDAN.  One  of  these  women  is  shaking  her  head.  She probably  knows  something  about  that. Mr.  FOSTER.  The  reason  I  asked  about  that  is  because  that  shows a  bad  state  of  affairs,  and  that  might  be  the  reason  it  started.  Now, it  was  reported,  I  think  in  the  press,  that  there  had  been  a  great  many of  them  taken  into  East  St.  Louis.  I  want  to  know  whether  that  is so  or  not.  I  do  not  know.  I  am  trying  to  get  at  the  clashing  that came  up  there  between  the  two. Mr.  DYER.  Mr.  Rodenberg  will  tell  you,  when  he  addresses  the  com- mittee, that  the  assault  was  not  committed  on  anybody  that  had  been imported  immediately  before.  This  lieutenant  in  the  reserve  corps, M.  T.  Arbuckle,  who  can  be  gotten  easily  because  he  is  here  in  The Adjutant  General's  Department  at  the  War  Department,  told  me  he went  to  the  hospital  when  these  people  were  there,  immediately  after the  killing,  and  he  talked  with  one  colored  man  who  had  been  burned very  severely  and  was  going  to  die,  and  he  made  a  death-bed  state- ment to  him  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  worked  over  there  con- tinuously for  the  past  11  years  for  one  concern,  without  losing  hardly a  day ;  he  never  had  been  arrested  in  his  life  for  anything ;  and  he was  at  home  with  his  family  when  they  came  down  there  and  set  fire to  his  place  and  burned  him  and  his  family. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  guess  there  is  no  question  that  there  was  no  distinc- tion made  in  the  affair. Mr.  DYER.  One  of  these  women  here  is  a  teacher  at  the  Howard University.  She  went  to  St.  Louis.  This  other  lady  went  to  East St.  Louis  in  behalf  of  the  Red  Cross,  to  render  assistance,  and  she went  there  to  East  St.  Louis  and  saw  where  the  property  had  been destroyed  and  burned,  and  she  can  tell  you  how  near  it  was  to  the Government  buildings ;  and  the  Red  Cross  building  was  burned,  and she  can  tell  you  hundreds  of  instances  of  people  who  have  talked  with her  and  told  her  about  these  various  matters.  But  first,  before  I  ask them  to  address  the  committee,  I  will  ask  Mr.  Rodenberg  to  say  some- thing. Mr.  GARRETT.  Mr.  Dyer,  if  you  will  pardon  me  just  a  moment before  you  conclude — are  you  about  to  conclude? Mr.  DYER.  Yes. Mr.  GARRETT.  I  want  to  hear  your  legal  view  upon  the  resolution, if  I  can,  as  to  just  what  authority — Mr.  DYER.  I  have  here  a  copy  of  a  resolution  entitled  "  Public  reso- lution 125,  Sixty-fourth  Congress,  providing  for  a  joint  resolution creating  a  joint  subcommittee  from  the  membership  of  the  Senate Committee  on  Interstate  Commerce  and  the  House  Committee  on Interstate  and  Foreign  Commerce  to  investigate  conditions  relating to  interstate  and  foreign  commerce  and  the  necessity  for  further legislation  relating  thereto  and  defining  the  powers  and  duties  of such  committee." This  resolution  is  drawn  along  the  same  lines  as  the  resolution  I have.  It  is  a  resolution  to  make  certain  investigations  and  to  report BIOT  AT   EAST   ST.    LOUTS,   ILLINOIS.  9 whether  or  not  any  laws  have  been  violated  and  what  is  necessary for  the  further  protection  of  interstate  commerce,  etc. The  CHAIRMAN.  Suppose  a  condition  exists  which  would  make  it dangerous  for  citizens  to  go  and  come  from  one  State  to  another, would  or  would  not  that,  in  your  judgment,  be  such  an  obstruction of  interstate  commerce  as  would  give  Congress  jurisdiction? Mr.  DTER.  I  think  that  is  one  of  the  very  especial  .reasons  why something  should  be  done,  because  in  St.  Louis  we  are  in  serious danger. The  CHAIRMAN.  I  understand  you  to  say  that  these  colored  work- ers have  now  to  be  escorted  backward  and  forward  to  and  from  their  • places  of  employment  under  an  armed  guard? Mr.  DYER.  Yes. Miss  QUEEN.  Yes,  sir. Mr.  DYER.  This  lady  was  there  and  talked  with  a  great  many people. Miss  QUEEN.  With  the  representatives  of  a  number  of  companies. Mr.  DYER.  She  talked  with  a  number  of  men  employed  there,  and they  told  her  the  only  way  they  could  carry  out  their  work  under contracts  for  the  Government  was  to  send  these  men  over  to  work under  an  armed  guard  to  East  St.  Louis,  and  then  have  the  guard go  and  wait  on  the  other  side  and  receive  them  and  protect  them  at the  end  of  their  day's  work. Mr.  Rodenberg,  will  you  address  the  committee  now  ? STATEMENT  OF  HON.  WILLIAM  A.  RODENBERG,  A  REPRESENTA- TIVE IN  CONGRESS  FROM  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS. Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  very  heartily  in  favor  of  this resolution,  and  I  hope  that  this  committee  will  take  such  action  as will  make  possible  the  consideration  of  the  resolution  during  this  ses- sion. It  is  the  unanimous  wish  of  all  of  the  decent,  law-abiding citizens  of  East  St.  Louis  that  a  Federal  investigation  of  the  riot should  be  had.  A  few  days  ago  I  filed  in  Congress  a  set  of  resolutions adopted  by  a  committee  of  100  citizens,  the  leading  men  of  the  city manufacturers  and  merchants  and  professional  men.  The  committee was  organized  shortly  after  the  riot,  for  the  protection  of  the  city That  resolution  reads  as  follows:  It  is  very  short,  and  I  would  like to  read  it  to  you.  [Reading:] EAST  ST.  Louis,  ILL.,  July  19,  1911 Whereas  the  recent  disgraceful  riots  and  disturbances  in  East  St.  Louis  have done  immeasurable  damage  to  our  city  and  our  people  and  have  brought humiliation  and  shame  to  the  good  citizens  residing  here;  and Whereas  resolutions  have  been  presented  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States and  are  under  consideration  there  providing  for  a  Federal  investigation  of the  same,  and  there  seems  to  be  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  such investigation  should  be  by  a  Federal  grand  jury,  the  Department  of  Justice, of  the  United  States,  or  by  a  joint  committee  of  Congress  :  Now.  therefore  be  it Resolved  by  the  Citizens  Committee  of  One  Hundred  of  East  St.  Louis,  III., representing  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  our  community,  that  without  in  any way  criticizing  or  impeding  any  local  investigation  now  being  conducted  and  with full  indorsement  of  every  such  investigation  that  may  result  in  determining the  cause  of  the  disturbances  and  the  punishment  of  those  responsible  therefor, yet  we  heartily  indorse  the  proposition  of  such  a  Federal  inquiry  both  as  to  the causes  and  conditions  leading  to  the  disgraceful  occurrences  in  our  midst,  as well  as  the  remedies  that  may  be  adopted  to  prevent  their  recurrence :  Be  it further 10  BIOT   AT   EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Resolved,  That  we  do  not  suggest  or  intimate  to  the  Senate  or  Congress  of the  United  States  as  to  which  method  of  inquiry  should  be  adopted  or  as  to  how such  investigation  shall  be  conducted.  We  do,  however,  welcome  and  desire such  an  inquiry,  under  Federal  authority  and  supervision,  as  will  disclose  the causes,  suggest  the  remedy,  and  give  assurance  to  the  country  and  to  the  world that  such  occurrences  are  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  that  law  and  order  will  here- after prevail  among  us :  And  be  it  further Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  United  States  Sena- tors from  Illinois  and  to  the  Representative  in  Congress  from  this  district,  with the  request  that  they  present  the  same  to  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- tives in  order  that  the  position  of  our  law-abiding  citizens  may  be  fully  under- stood. C.  E.  POPE,  Chairman. N.  C.  MCLEAN,  Secretary. Mr.  GARRETT.  May  I  interrupt  you  just  a  moment,  Mr.  Rodenberg? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes. Mr.  GARRETT.  There  is  no  question,  is  there,  that  the  Department of  Justice  has  tried  to  do  its  best  in  this  matter  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  was  just  going  to  speak  about  that.  Imme- diately upon  receipt  of  this  resolution  I  called  at  the  Department  of Justice,  and  I  found  a  very  sincere  desire  upon  the  part  of  the  de- partment to  assist  us  in  investigating  this  riot.  The  matter  was  re- ferred to  Assistant  Attorney  General  Fitts,  and  I  had  a  long  confer- ence with  him.  Mr.  Fitts  expressed  his  desire  to  cooperate  with  us  to the  fullest  extent  and  he  was  willing  to  do  everything  in  his  power. He  was  perplexed  by  the  question,  though,  as  to  whether  or  not  any phase  of  the  riot  presented  a  question  that  would  be  a  proper  subject of  Federal  judicial  inquiry. My  idea  was  that  the  most  effective  investigation  would  be  by  a Federal  court,  and  I  especially  requested  that  Judge  Landis  be  as- , signed  to  conduct  the  investigation.  About  a  year  ago  Judge  Landis held  court  in  East  St.  Louis,  and  he  called  the  officials  of  the  city government  before  him  and  took  them  to  task  for  permitting  open violation  of  the  law.  permitting  saloons  to  run  on  Sunday  and  gam- bling joints,  etc.  He  struck  terror  into  a  good  many  of  the  lawless element  there,  and  I  felt  that  the  moral  effect  of  the  presence  of Judge  Landis  and  a  Federal  grand  jury  impaneled  for  that  pur- pose would  be  most  excellent.  The  Department  of  Justice  went  as far  as  it  possibly  could.  They  instructed  the  district  attorney  at East  St.  Louis  to  go  to  Lacrosse  and  have  a  consultation  with  Judge Landis,  to  get  his  views  as  to  whether  or  not  it  was  properly  a  subject of  judicial  inquiry.  I  have  since  been  informed  by  Mr.  Fitts  that Judge  Landis  has  some  doubt  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Department of  Justice;  that  he  thinks  it  is  questionable  as  to  whether  or  not, inasmuch  as  it  is  purely  a  violation  of  State  law,  it  would  be  properly a  subject  of  investigation  by  the  Federal  court  authorities. The  CHAIRMAN.  If  the  conditions  are  such  that  it  is  dangerous  for men  to  go  and  come  across  the  State  line  in  the  pursuit  of  their  daily employment,  is  there  any  doubt  in  your  mind  that  that  would  be  a subject  for  such  an  investigation? Mr.  RODENBERG.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind;  and  that  would no  doubt  develop,  on  a  congressional  investigation  of  this  kind.  If a  congressional  investigation  were  held,  it  would  no  doubt  develop a  state  of  facts  that  would  enable  the  Federal  court  to  take  hold. Now,  since  the  State  troops  have  been  federalized  and  the  National RIOT   AT    EAST    ST.    LOUIS,    ILLINOIS.  11 Guard  called  into  Federal  service,  we  have  only  two  companies  there, and  those  are  two  companies  of  Regulars  under  command  of  Maj. Cavanaugh.  I  had  a  consultation  with  Secretary  Baker,  with  a committee  of  citizens  of  East  St.  Louis  headed  by  Maurice  Joyce, who.  I  think,  will  be  the  next  Federal  judge  in  my  district,  and  we asked  Secretary  Baker  to  keep  those  two  companies  of  Regulars  in East  St.  Louis.  They  are  there  in  close  proximity  to  the  plant  of the  aluminum  company.  We  asked  the  Secretary  to  keep  those  two companies  there  and  to  give  instructions  to  Maj.  Cavanaugh  to  use his  troops  not  only  for  the  protection  of  plants  that  have  Govern- ment contracts  but  also  to  preserve  civil  order  in  case  it  was  neces- sary, and  Mr.  Baker  very  promptly  told  us  that  he  would  be  very glad  to  do  that,  but  that  the  governor  would  first  have  to  make  the request.  I  then  telegraphed  to  the  governor,  and  he  wired  back that  he  had  requested  Maj.  Gen.  Barry,  who  is  in  charge  of  the Federal  troops  out  in  Illinois,  to  so  instruct  Maj.  Cavanaugh,  and that  Maj.  Cavanaugh  was  to  use  the  troops  under  his  command  to preserve  civil  order  there  until  such  time  as  the  civil  authorities  could master  the  situation.  This  order  has  since  been  issued  by  Gen.  Barry to  Maj.  Cavanaugh. Now,  the  plain,  unvarnished  truth  of  the  matter,  as  Mr.  Joyce  told Secretary  Baker,  is  that  civil  government  in  East  St.  Louis  com- pletely collapsed  at  the  time  of  the  riot.  The  conditions  there  at  the time  beggar  description.  It  is  impossible  for  any  human  being  to describe  the  ferocity  oncl  brutality  of  that  mob.  In  out*  case,  for instance,  a  little  10-year-old  boy,  whose  mother  had  been  shot  down, was  running  around  sobbing  and  looking  for  his  mother,  and  some members  of  the  mob  shot  the  boy,  and  before  life  had  passed  from  his body  they  picked  the  little  fellow  up  and  threw  him  in  the  flames. Another  colored  woman  with  a  little  2-year-old  baby  in  her  arms was  trying  to  protect  the  child,  and  they  shot  her  and  also  shot  the child,  and  threw  them  in  the  flames.  The  horror  of  that  tragedy in  East  St.  Louis  can  never  be  described.  It  weighted  me  down with  a  feeling  of  depression  that  I  did  not  recover  from  for  weeks. The  most  sickening  things  I  ever  heard  of  were  described  in  the  let- ters that  I  received  from  home  giving  details  of  that  attack. Mr.  SNELL.  How  large  was  that  mob? Mr.  RODENBERG.  The  mob  was  composed  of  possibly  2.000  people. I  want  to  tell  you  something  about  East  St.  Louis.  In  the  first place,  it  is  a  large  industrial  center.  It  is  a  town  of  about  90,000 population.  We  are  unfortunate  in  some  respects.  We  have  a  mag- nificent location ;  we  have  26  railroads  there,  an  unlimited  supply  of fuel  and  water,  and  every  facility  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Our city  is  right  across  the  river  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  I  want  to  call attention  to  some  facts.  Every  vag  and  undesirable  that  is  haled into  the  police  courts  of  St.  Louis  and  given  hours  to  leave  town comes  across  the  river  to  East  St.  Louis.  As  a  result  our  city  has  a larger  proportion  of  the  lawless,  worthless  element  than  most  cities of  our  size.  The  city  is  financially  bankrupt.  Our  total  indebted- ness has  reached  the  constitutional  limit,  and  we  have  a  very  in- adequate police  force.  I  think  at  the  time  of  this  riot  we  had  some- thing like  60  policemen  in  the  entire  city. Mr.  GARRETT.  How  large  is  East  St.  Louis? 12  RIOT   AT   EAST    ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Mr.  EODENBERG.  About  90,000  population.  Now,  since  this  has taken  place  the  manufacturers  have  gotten  together,  and  they  have voluntarily  raised  a  fund  of  $105,000.  Under  pressure  of  this  com- mittee of  citizens  the  Board  of  Police  and  Fire  Commissioners  who were  in  charge  at  the  time  the  riot  took  place  have  resigned,  and three  new  commissioners  have  been  appointed  upon  the  suggestion of  the  Committee  of  One  Hundred — three  leading  citizens,  very  high- grade  and  reputable  men.  Since  that  time  they  have  forced  the resignation  of  the  chief  of  police  and  night  chief,  and  they  have  put a  very  prominent,  strong,  clear-headed,  capable  man  in  charge  of the  police  department,  Mr.  Frank  Keating.  I  believe  you  know him,  Dr.  Foster. Mr.  FOSTER.  Yes. .   Mr.  RODENBERG.  You  inquired  a  moment  ago,  Mr.  Chairman,  as to  whether  the  local  authorities  were  doing  their  duty. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  Before  you  reach  that,  Mr.  Rodenberg,  may  I  ask you  a  question? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  Mr.  Dyer  stated  that  members  of  the  militia  shot colored  people  and  that  policemen  shot  colored  people, Mr.  RODENBERG.  That  is  absolutely  true.  If  you  will  bear  with me  a  moment,  perhaps  I  can  give  you  a  very  clear  statement  of  the events  that  led  up  to  this  riot. In  March  of  this  year  there  was  a  strike  inaugurated  at  the  Alumi- num Co.  works.  Bear  in  mind,  here  is  something  that  I  think  the Government  should  be  vitally  interested  in.  The  basic  plant  of the  Aluminum  Co.  of  America  is  located  at  East  St.  Louis.  Their finishing  plants  are  in  Pittsburgh  and  in  that  section  of  the  country, but  the  basic  plant,  where  they  first  get  the  clay  from  which  they extract  the  aluminum  from  which  they  make  the  aluminum  utensils in  this  country,  is  located  at  East  St.  Louis.  It  is  a  plant  that  repre- sents an  investment,  I  suppose,  of  $10,000,000.  Of  course,  you  need aluminum  in  the  construction  of  aeroplanes.  You  have  got  to  have it.  If  this  plant  is  not  in  operation  you  can  not  build  your  flying machines  to  be  used  in  this  war.  The  manager  of  this  company,  Mr. Fox,  was  assaulted;  he  was  shot  at  while  going  to  the  works,  and he  has  received  letters  within  the  last  few  days  threatening  that as  soon  as  the  troops  are  withdrawn  they  will  burn  down  his  plant. The  packing  houses  have  received  the  same  sort  of  notices. When  this  strike  occurred  in  March  the  Aluminum  Co.  had  large contracts  on  hand,  and  they  very  quickly  acquiesced  in  the  demands of  the  employees.  As  the  result  of  that  strike,  the  lowest  wage  paid for  the  most  ordinary  labor  by  the  Aluminum  Co.  is  $2.75  a  day. That  is  the  lowest  wage  paid  by  the  Aluminum  Co.,  $2.75  a  day,  for the  most  ordinary  labor.  Some  of  these  colored  men  who  work  in the  plants,  who  are  good  workmen,  make  as  high  as  $4  and  $5  a  day ; but  the  lowest  wage  paid  there,  as  I  say,  is  $2.75  a  day. Shortly  thereafter  another  strike  was  started  by  the  employees. The  Aluminum  Co.,  it  seems,  runs  what  is  known  as  an  open  shop; they  pay  the  highest  wages,  but  they  refuse  to  accord  official  recogni- tion to  the  union  as  a  union ;  and  that  was  the  grievance  of  the  men. The  company  refused  to  recognize  the  union,  and  they  went  on strike ;  and  then  in  order  to  supply  this  labor  the  company  began  to RIOT  AT  EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  13 employ  a  great  many  of  these  colored  men  who  had  been  coming  into East  St.  Louis  in  large  numbers. There  have  been  several  reasons  assigned  for  this  influx  of  southern negroes.  During  the  heat  of  the  political  campaign  the  charge  was made  that  negroes  were  being  imported  and  colonized  for  political purposes.  There  was  not  a  scintilla  of  evidence  to  base  that  sort  of charge  on.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Department  of  Justice  at  that time  investigated  that  fully  and  they  found  nothing  to  justify  any such  accusation. Mr.  FOSTER.  May  I  ask  you  a  question  there? Mr.   RODENBERG.    YeS. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  am  trying  to  get  information.  I  do  not  know  about this  except  what  I  have  heard.  Did  they  import  large  numbers  of negroes  to  take  the  places  of  these  men? Mr.  RODENBERG.  That  is  a  question  that  I  am  not  fully  prepared  to  an- swer. The  manufacturers — Mr.  Conway,  of  Armour  &  Co. ;  Mr.  Fox,  of the  Aluminum  Co. ;  and  others — made  the  statement  under  oath  that there  was  no  importation  by  reason  of  inducements  to  employment. They  claim  that  the  immigration  to  East  St.  Louis  from  the  South was  entirely  voluntary ;  that  these  "men  had  come  up  there  attracted by  the  very  fine  wages  being  paid.  As  Mr.  Dyer  said,  many  of  the employees  that  had  been  working  in  the  factories  were  foreigners, and  when  the  European  war  broke  out  many  of  the  Hungarians, Roumanians,  and  Turks,  and  others  of  the  various  nationalities — and perhaps  every  nationality  under  the  sun  is  represented  among  the workmen  in  East  St.  Louis — returned  to  Europe  to  fight  in  the  war. Many  of  them  returned  voluntarily  at  the  first  outbreak  of  European hostilities.  They  went  back  in  large  numbers,  and  that  left  the manufacturing  industries  shorthanded.  While  I  do  not  want  to  ex- press an  opinion  on  this,  yet  the  large  number  of  negroes  that  came to  East  St.  Louis  would  make  it  appear  that  there  had  been  a  sys- tematic effort  to  bring  in  colored  help ;  but  I  would  not  dispute  the- word  of  men  like  Mr.  Fox  and  Mr.  Conway.  I  do  not  believe  they were  responsible  for  induced  immigration  of  southern  negroes. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  will  say  that  the:  work  was  not  done  by  them. The  CHAIRMAN.  Is  it  not  natural  to  suppose  that  if  they  were making  such  wages  as  that  it  would  draw  the  labor  there,  just  as  the construction  of  these  Army  cantonments  draws  labor? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Absolutely.  This  migration  from  the  south  to East  St  Louis  has  been  going  on  for  several  years.  As  I  say,  there are  26  railroads  coming  into  the  city  of  East  St.  Louis,  many  from the  South.  There  are  the  Cotton  Belt  Road,  the  Southern,  the St.  Louis  &  Iron  Mountain,  the  Louisville  &  Nashville,  and  all  those various  roads  center  in  East  St.  Louis.  They  have  for  years  been employing  colored  laborers  as  freight  handlers  and  trackmen.  They were  paying  fair  wages.  Then  these  colored  people  realizing  that they  could  make  better  wages  than  the  railroads  paid  began  to  work for  other  people  and  to  go  into  these  big  factories  and  get  higher wages,  and  thev  would  write  back  to  their  friends  about  it. Mr.  SNELL.  Is  there  anything  wrong  if  they  did  it  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  do  not  think  so. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  It  can  not  be  said,  even  if  they  had  been  imported the  day  before,  that  it  would  have  justified  these  outrages. 14  BIOT   AT   EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Mr.  FOSTER.  Oh,  no ;  nobody  would  think  so  for  a  moment. Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  have  gotten  away  from  my  story.  That  is  what brought  on  this  strike;  colored  people  began  to  come  in.  It  en- gendered a  good  deal  of  bitterness.  Of  course,  there  were  some  very undesirable  and  lawless  colored  people  came  in  with  the  decent laborers.  There  was  quite  a  good  deal  of  crime  in  East  St.  Louis, much  of  which  was  committed  by  this  lawless  element  of  negroes. There  were  a  number  of  cases  of  hold-ups  and  things  of  that  kind. The  great  body  of  the  colored  people  who  came  were  law-abiding and  were  honestly  trying  to  better  their  condition ;  but  as  is  natural under  such  circumstances,  we  also  got  a  criminal  element.  It  culmi- nated on  the  28th  of  May.  A  race  riot  started. Mr.  RIORDAN.  How  did  that  race  riot  on  the  28th  start? Mr.  RODENBERG.  You  know  it  is  impossible  to  explain  just  how those  things  start.  It  struck  all  at  once.  They  had  a  meeting  of  the city  council.  The  mayor  called  the  meeting  at  night,  which  of  course was  a  serious  mistake,  and  I  think  he  recognizes  that  fact,  himself, now.  It  was  called  at  8  o'clock  at  night,  in  the  city  auditorium.  The representatives  of  the  laboring  people  wanted  to  consult  with  the mayor  and  the  city  council  to  see  if  some  measures  could  not  be adopted  to  prevent  a  further  influx  of  negroes  into  East  St.  Louis. They  went  there  from  500  to  1,000  strong.  There  were  some  inflam- matory and  impassioned  speeches  made  at  that  meeting,  and  as  a  re- sult, when  they  left  the  auditorium  they  went  down  into  a  section about  two  blocks  from  the  city  hall  where  there  were  negro  saloons, and  began  to  attack  them,  and  there  were  three  or  four 'colored  people and  several  white  people  killed ;  but  they  got  the  militia  in  there  im- mediately and  they  suppressed  that  riot.  However,  I  realized,  and so  did  everybody,  that  the  thing  was  only  smoldering,  and  would break  out  with  renewed  fury. On  the  evening  of  the  first  of  July  the  whole  trouble  started,  as  I understand,  in  this  way :  A  colored  man  got  off  a  car  at  a  transfer point  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  while  waiting  for  his  car  several white  men  saw  him,  some  seven  or  eight  of  them,  and  they  v/alked over  in  a  body  and  one  of  them  knocked  the  colored  man  dowrn,  and several  of  them  hit  him,  and  finally  one  of  this  gang  pulled  out  a  re- volver and  shot  him  while  he  was  lying  on  the  sidewalk,  but  did  not hit  him  in  a  vital  part,  and  he  got  up  and  ran  away. In  a  few  minutes  another  colored  man  came  along,  and  he  was given  similar  treatment  and  he  ran  away. These  negroes  who  had  been  attacked  ran  down  to  the  section  of the  city  where  the  colored  people  live,  and  the  story  goes  that  they rang  the  church  bell  and  assembled  some  200  or  300  people,  and  they were  armed. The  colored  people  say  that  that  night,  on  Sunday  night,  in  the early  part  of  the  evening,  an  automobile,  a  Ford  car,  loaded  with four  or  five  men,  came  through  the  negro  section  of  the  city  and  began firing  into  the  houses.  They  were  out  joy  riding,  it  seems.  When this  colored  crowd  assembled,  armed,  the  police  department  wa^ notified.  The  police  sergeant,  Mr.  Samuel  Coppedge,  who  happened to  be  a  friend  of  mine  and  whose  son  is  in  the  Navy — and  I  had some  trouble  trying  to  locate  the  young  man  to  notify  him  of  his father's  death— together  with  three  detectives,  got  into  a  Ford  ma- chine, all  in  citizens'  clothing,  although  they  were  all  detectives,  and RIOT  AT  EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  15 Coppedge  was  a  detective  sergeant,  and  they  went  down  to  head  off this  mob  of  colored  people,  and  they  asked  them  to  disperse  and said  they  were  officers  of  the  law.  The  colored  people  claim  that they  thought  they  were  the  same  men  who  had  earlier  in  the  evening shot  into  the  houses,  and  in  their  excitement  they  shot  into  the  car arid  killed  Coppedge  and  wounded  two  of  the  other  detectives,  one of  whcm  has  since  died.  When  the  news  of  the  death  of  Sergt. Coppedge,  who  was  a  popular  and  efficient  officer,  got  to  the  police department  the  police  force  afforded  no  further  protection  of  any kind  to  the  colored  people  of  East  St.  Louis.  As  a  matter  of  fact, some  members  of  the  police  department  joined  the  rioters  and  helped shoot  the  negroes.  Those  are  the  facts. At  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  July  2  they  had  two  companies  of militia  at  East  St.  Louis.  The  militia,  being  under  the  orders  of the  civil  authorities,  soon  caught  the  spirit  of  the  situation,  and  the two  companies  of  militia  also  did  not  turn  a  hand  to  restore  law  and order.  They  have  now  the  man  who  was  in  charge Mr.  CAMPBELL.  Where  was  the  militia  made  up  from? Mr.  RODENBERG.  They  were  made  up  in  the  northern  part  of  the State  of  Illinois.  I  do  not  know  where  they  came  from.  The  colonel in  charge,  Col.  Tripp.  is  now  under  investigation  and  is  facing  a court-martial.  An  effort  was  made  to  have  martial  law  declared  at the  time,  but  Col.  Tripp  said  it  was  not  necessary;  that  he  could handle  the  situation.  He  took  no  adequate  steps  to  handle  it, however. On  Sunday  I  was  at  Atlantic  City.  Mr.  Joseph  Nester,  the  presi- dent of  the  O'Bear-Nester  Glass  Co.,  told  me  that  one  of  the  men employed  by  his  company  told  him  that  he  was  shot  by  a  militiaman. That  was  an  honest,  law-abiding,  and  reliable  colored  man  who  had worked  for  Mr.  Nester  for  30  years. Mr.  Maurice  Joyce,  who,  as  I  said  a  moment  ago,  will  probably  be our  next  Federal  judge,  told  me  last  week  that  when  they  started  to attack  a  colored  laboring  man,  whom  he  happened  to  know,  he  went forward  and  interceded,  and  the  poor  fellow  ran  for  protection toward  eight  militiamen,  and  those  militiamen  turned  their  bayonets on  the  poor  devil  and  made  him  run  back  into  the  mob,  and  the  mob killed  him,  and  they  also  threatened  to  kill  Mr.  Joyce  for  trying  to interfere.  I  suppose  I  could  talk  for  six  hours  detailing  the  situa- tion. Mr.  FOSTER.  What  has  the  governor  done  in  order  to  investigate that  affair? Mr.  RODEXBERG.  The  governor  is  doing  everything  he  can.  The attorney  general  of  Illinois  is  on  the  ground  with  a  corps  of  assistants and  has  taken  personal  charge  of  the  riot  investigation.  The  grand jury  of  St.  Clair  County  is  now  in  session  investigating  it.  The  pre- siding judge,  Judge  Crow,  who  is  an  able  and  fearless  man,  has  given instructions  to  the  jury  to  make  the  most  thorough  investigation  and to  punish  every  man  connected  with  it.  They  have  returned  a  num- ber of  indictments.  They  have  arrested  three  police  officers  who  were directly  implicated  in  the  shooting.  They  had  evidence  that  several of  them  had  killed  colored  people. Mr.  FOSTER.  The  reason  I  asked  you  that  is  that  I  have  a  telegram from  the  governor  in  which  he  said  he  was  making  a  thorough  in- vestigation. 16  RIOT  AT   EAST    ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes ;  they  are  doing  that. Mr.  FOSTER.  And  that  the  courts  would  spare  no  man  who  was  im- plicated in  that  outrage. Mr.  EODENBERG.  Oh,  yes;  I  think  the  State  authorities  are  doing- everything  they  possibly  can. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  wondered  how  they  were  getting  on  with  it.  I thought  you  were  in  closer  touch  with  it  than  I  am. Mr.  RODENBERG.  They  are  going  on  in  the  regular  way — getting their  witnesses  and  then  bringing  them  before  the  grand  jury. The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  any  doubt,  if  an  investigation  is  ordered, that  where  outrages  were  so  publicly  committed  the  result  would  be to  at  least  mark  some  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in  this? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes,  undoubtedly;  but  it  is  a  peculiar  thing. Although  Mr.  Joyce  was  born  and  reared  in  East  St.  Louis  and  he saw  this  mob  of  2,000,  he  said  that  upon  his  word  of  honor  he  was unable  to  recognize  any  of  those  men.  He  never  had  seen  them  be- fore, apparently.  They  were  young  fellows  that  had  grown  up there,  whom  he  did  not  know ;  a  mob  mostly  of  young  fellows.  Many of  them  are  supposed  to  have  come  over  from  St.  Louis. Mr.  GARRETT.  Is  it  thought  in  East  St.  Louis  that  this  riot  was primarily  racial,  or  is  it  purely  a  labor  proposition,  or  is  it  a  mixture of  both? Mr.  RODENBERG.  It  is  a  mixture  of  both  racial  and  economic. Mr.  HARRISON.  What  proportion  of  white  people  is  there  in  East St.  Louis? Mr.  RODENBERG.  In  East  St.  Louis,  prior  to  this  riot,  I  suppose there  were  probably  20,000  colored  people  and  70,000  white  people. Mr.  HARRISON.  Are  there  that  many  left  there  now  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Oh,  no;  I  do  not  suppose  there  are  more  than 5,000  colored  people  there  now.  Many  of  the  employees  in  the  fac- tories are  living  across  the  river  and  go  to  their  work  in  East  St. Louis  under  military  escort. Mr.  FOSTER.  Take  it  out  there  at  Brooklyn,  which  is  largely made  up — practically  all  colored  people? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  it  is  a  little  village  composed  entirely  of colored  people. Mr.  FOSTER.  Did  they  burn  the  houses  there? Mr.  RODENBERG.  No. Mr.  FOSTER.  The  houses  they  burned  were  down  in  town  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  Brooklyn  is  not  a  part  of  East  St.  Louis. It  is  a  separate  municipality. Mr.  FOSTER.  But  they  burned  those  sections  where  they  lived down  in  the  city? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  down  in  the  south  end. Mr.  FOSTER.  That  is  where  the  trouble  occurred? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  they  burned  310  houses,  and  the  Broadway Opera  House ;  and  it  was  a  misfortune  that  entailed  an  awful  expense on  the  city.  Under  the  law  of  Illinois  the  city  is  responsible  for  any damage  caused  by  a  mob,  and  the  city  will  have  approximately  a million  dollars  to  pay  as  the  result  of  this  mob  action. Mr.  FOSTER.  What  action  has  been  taken  by  the  mayor?  Is  he enforcing  the  law  in  reference  to  closing  saloons  on  Sundays  and cleaning  up  those  low  dives? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  he  is  cooperating  with  this  committee  of  100 now. RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.   LOUIS,  ILLINOIS.  17 I  wanted  to  mention  this  fact.  The  manufacturers  who  employed bor  there  have  voluntarily  subscribed  $105,000  to  increase  the  police >rce.  They  will  probably  have  a  police  department  of  over  100  men ien;  and  they  expect  to  be  in  better  shape  in  the  future. Mr.  DYER.  I  see  in  the  paper  where  there  has  been  a  couple  of >uses  burned  in  the  colored  section  in  the  last  day  or  two. Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  do  not  think  those  fires  were  incendiary.  I  think is  resolution  can  properly  come  under  the  policy  you  have  adopted, ;  a  war  measure,  from  the  fact  that  the  Aluminum  company  is cated  there.  We  want  it  also  because  of  the  moral  effect.  There •e  people  who  will  not  talk  when  they  go  before  a  State  grand  jury, ;  most  of  you  gentlemen  know — most  of  you  are  lawyers— but  they ive  a  terror  of  a  Federal  inquiry.  It  strikes  terror  into  the  evil- >er,  and  I  believe  it  will  disclose  facts  that  could  not  be  gotten  in ly  other  way.  I  think  it  ought  to  be  done.  It  would  be  appreciated T  our  people.  Every  decent  citizen  wants  it  and  is  in  full  harmony ith  the  spirit  of  this  resolution. Mr.  HARRISON.  Is  there  an  investigation  going  on  now? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Oh,  yes. Mr.  HARRISON.  I  mean  the  proceedings  of  which  are  being  pub- shed,  and  that  the  public  would  know  about  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  The  investigation  now  going  on  is  before  the  State 'and  jury  and,  of  course,  is  secret. Mr.  GARRETT.  I  suppose  careful  thought  has  been  given  by  you,  Mr. yer,  and  the  other  gentlemen  interested  in  the  resolution,  to  the lestion  of  whether  an  investigation  of  this  sort  would  be  likely  in ly  way  to  embarrass  the  processes  of  justice  in  the  State,  and tiether  there  are  any  dangers  of  immunities  growing  out  of  any vestigation  that  might  be  held  by  Congressional  committee  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  that  is  a  phase  to  be  considered. Mr.  GARRETT.  If  that  is  so,  that  is  a  question  which  the  committee aking  the  investigation  should  consider  very  thoroughly. Mr.  RODENBERG.  They  will  no  doubt  take  that  into  consideration, am  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  that  it  is  highly  imperative  that  an vestigation  of  this  kind  should  be  had. Mr.  HARRISON.  I  notice  that  you  say  you  want  this  committee  to vestigate  as  to  "what  legislation,  if  any,  is. needed  to  prevent  like itrages  in  the  State  of  Illinois  and  other  States  and  Territories  of e  United  States."  What  other  States  do  you  refer  to? Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  would  much  prefer  to  confine  the  scope  of  this vestigadon  right  to  the  East  St.  Louis  riots,  and  I  believe  Mr.  Dyer now  of  the  same  opinion. Mr.  DYER.  We  want  it  to  be  simply  as  to  East  St.  Louis. Mr.   FOSTER.  This  resolution  should  be  rewritten  and  all  these tiereas  should  be  stricken  but.    I  am  not  in  favor  of  the  resolution it  is  written. 'ATEMENT  OF  NANNIE  H.  BURROUGHS,  NATIONAL  TRAINING SCHOOL,  LINCOLN  HEIGHTS. Miss  BURROUGHS.  Mr.  Chairman  and  members  of  the  committee, have  come  to  you  as  the  superintendent  of  the  Department  for  the ippression  of  Lynching  and  Mob  Violence,  a  department  under 6420—17- 2 18  RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.   LOUIS,  ILLINOIS. the  National  Association  of  Colored  Women.  The  association  is composed  of  100,000  women  of  our  race.  They  have  organized  in every  State  in  the  Union.  They  represent  the  women  who  are  work- ing to  improve  the  social  conditions  of  our  race  in  industrial  condi- tions and  religious  conditions.  The  organization  is  now  nearly  20 years  old.  These  women  have  asked  me  to  take  charge  of  this  mat- ter of  presenting  to  you  an  appeal  to  investigate  the  East  St.  Louis outrages,  because  we  do  not  feel  that  the  country  is  perfectly  secure for  our  people  if  these  outrages  are  permitted,  and  the  persons  who partake  in  them  are  permitted  to  go  unpunished. We  are  asking  that  the  Federal  Government  will  do  this  for  us, and  I  bring  before  you  this  morning  petitions  from  35  States  and from  the  District  of  Columbia.  I  have  here  over  7,000  petitions  this morning,  signed  by  American  citizens  of  color,  and  by  white  citizens, who  are  extremely  anxious  that  the  Federal  Government  do  some- thing in  this  matter. Mr.  FOSTER.  Were  you  at  East  St.  Louis  at  any  time  during  the riot? Miss  BURROUGHS.  Not  during  the  riot ;  no,  sir.  Here  are  the  peti- tions. [Producing  papers.]  They  are  fixed  in  packages  of  50,  and the  persons  have  signed  and  written  their  addresses  and  dates  of signature.  They  are  all  arranged  according  to  the  States  from which  they  come,  and  I  have  been  asked  to  give  them  to  you.  There are  at  least  100,000  of  these  petitions,  and  they  are  going  to  be  sent to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States — sent  to  Members  of  Con- gress— with  the  hope  that  you  will  do  something  in  this  matter. These  petitions  are  all  in  the  same  form. The  CHAIRMAN.  Let  one  of  them  be  put  in  the  record  at  this  point. (One  of  the  petitions  referred  to  is  here  printed  in  full,  as  follows)  : PROTEST   AND  PETITION. To   the   PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNITED   STATES,   the   SENATE   COMMITTEE   ON   THE JUDICIARY,  and  the  HOUSE  COMMITTEE  ON  THE  JUDICIARY: I  am  an  American  citizen  of  full  age  and  accountability  and  do  here  and  now, over  my  own  signature,  most  solemnly  protest  against  the  outrages  perpetrated upon  other  American  citizens  in  Bast  St.  Louis,  111..  July  2,  1917,  and  petition you  to  comply  with  the  request  made  by  Congressman  L.  C.  Dyer  in  House  Joint Resolution  118  as  speedily  as  possible. VlCTORA  CORNELTT. BELLEVUE,  PA.,  July  28,  1917. Miss  BURROUGHS.  We  are  asking  this  because  we  are  very  much afraid  that  if  these  outrages  go  unpunished  it  is  going  to  simply  em- bolden the  lawless  element  of  the  country,  and  if  we  can  allow  these things  to  go  on  in  our  country  without  calling  attention  to  the  great moral  evil  we  are  going  to  feel  it  in  more  ways  than  one ;  and  we  are  ask- ing it  because  we  feel  that  if  we  are  going  to  take  part  in  the  construc- tive work  of  our  Government  we  should  feel  that  we  are  perfectly safe  to  live  and  to  labor — and  we  do  not  feel  that  way  now — as American  citizens.  We  feel  that  if  we  want  to  work  in  certain  sec- tions we  might  be  permitted  to  work,  but  that  we  are  at  the  mercy and  at  the  whim  of  the  lawless  element,  whether  the  lawless  element is  in  our  own  race  or  any  other  race.  We  feel  it  because  we  do  not feel  that  there  has  been  a  strong,  vigorous  protest  against  the  out- rages that  have  been  perpetrated  upon  our  people. RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  19 You  will  have  noticed  that  since  the  East  St.  Louis  riots  riots  have broken  out  in  other  places  and  that  violence  is  growing  and  that  it  is directed  toward  negroes. The  CHAIRMAN.  You  mean  in  Pennsylvania? Miss  BURROUGHS.  No;  we  have  had  trouble  in  little  towns  in  Mis- souri. There  has  been  rioting  at  Chester,  Pa.  But  it  was  a  little nearer  East  St.  Louis  than  Chester.  I  wanted  to  go  up  to  one  of  those little  towns  on  a  visit,  on  Sunday,  but  my  friends  said,  "  It  is  not safe  for  you  to  go  up  there,"  so  I  could  not  go.  The  people  who  are seeking  work,  the  people  who  want  to  earn  their  bread,  want  to know  whether  the  Federal  Government  is  going  to  make  America  a safe  place  in  which  to  live,  and  not  only  to  live  but  to  labor,  and  we want  to  do  both ;  but  we  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  Federal  Government ; and  I  come  this  morning  to  ask  you,  in  behalf  of  my  people,  what  are you  going  to  do  about  this  matter  ? STATEMENT  OF  HAILIE  ELVIRA  QUEEN. Miss  QUEEN.  I  am  employed  by  the  Howard  University,  and  I  am an  interpreter  in  the  American  Red  Cross.  I  am  an  interpreter  and translator  of  Spanish,  German,  French,  and  Italian.  I  am  also  a member  of  the  department  of  civilian  relief  of  the  American  Red Cross  and  am  usually  sent  out  when  there  is  disaster  affecting  negroes in  the  United  States. When  this  trouble  occurred  in  East  St.  Louis  and  Mrs.  Frank  B. Hammard,  president  of  the  East  St.  Louis  Chapter,  called  for  help they  thought  it  wise  to  send  out  one  colored  worker,  and  I  was  sent. I  was  sent  out  and  given  permission  to  carry  on  some  investigations ?nd  make  a  report  of  it. Before  I  go  any  further  may  I  answer  your  question,  please — the question  which  you  asked  both  Mr.  Rodenberg  and  Mr.  Dyer — the question  about  the  importation  of  negroes  into  East  St.  Louis. Mr.  FOSTER.  The  reason  I  asked  that  is  that  I  saw  it  stated  in  the daily  press. Miss  QUEEN.  I  saw  that  you  were  quite  anxious  about  that. Mr.  FOSTER.  And  I  wondered  if  that  was  a  systematic  importation. Miss  QUEEN.  It  seems  that  up  to  a  couple  of  years  ago  there  was  a kind  of  work  done  around  the  stockyards  and  the  ore  yards  which the  skilled  white  worker  would  not  do,  so  that  they  took  in  the unskilled  Polack  and  Slav  to  do  that  kind  of  work,  and  when  these foreign  countries  mobilized  for  war  and  these  men  went  back  to Europe,  in  order  to  keep  their  plants  running,  they  had  to  get  other- unskilled  labor,  and  they  called  on  the  unskilled  labor  of  the  South. I  do  not  think  it  was  done  by  the  direct  sending  out  of  agents,  but  by employing  as  many  southern  negroes  who  lived  in  the  North  as  pos- sible and  by  encouraging  those  southern  negroes  to  write  to  their friends  and  tell  them  how  the  conditions  were  they  got  them  to  come up,  attracted  by  the  wage ;  but  I  do  not  think  there  was  a  systematic sending  out  of  agents,  and  those  negroes  first  came  to  take  the  places of  these  unskilled  laborers.  But  those  of  you  who  have  lived  in  the South  know  that  the  southern  negro  is  frequently  a  mechanic,  and when  those  men  came  up  there  they  were  easily  able  to  fill  in  a number  of  other  places. 20  RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS. Mr.  FOSTER.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  doubt  that  agents  have been  sending  South  to  get  the  negroes  up  there. Miss  QUEEN.  Yes.  Of  course,  I  can  only  answer  as  it  was  given to  me  when  I  was  there. Mr.  FOSTER.  The  reason  I  asked  that  is  that  the  press  reports, back  for  a  year,  as  Mr.  Rodenberg  will  probably  recall,  have  been mentioning  charges — of  course,  some  of  them  political,  and  I  do not  know  anything  about  that  and  I  am  not  going  to  say  anything about  it — that  they  had  imported  them  systematically,  to  the  number of  several  thousands,  as  I  think  it  was  stated  at  one  time ;  some  6,000 or  8,000. Mr.  RODENBERG.  They  claimed  8,000. Mr.  FOSTER.  Eight  thousand  into  East  St.  Louis  and  Madison County. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  What  has  that  to  do  with  it?  That  is  no  excuse for  these  riots. Mr.  FOSTER.  Oh,  no;  that  does  not  give  any  excuse  for  the  out- rages upon  these  people,  none  in  the  world ;  but  I  wondered  if,  with a  strike  on  there,  they  had  been  doing  that. The  CHAIRMAN.  Even  if  it  were  true  it  would  not  affect  the  juris- diction of  Congress  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  if  there  is  any spirit  of  terrorism  that  prevents  people  from  telling  what  they  know, inducing  them  to  speak. Mr.  CAMPBELL.  It  does  not  jutify  these  inhuman  murders. Mr.  FOSTER.  Nobody  is  trying  to  justify  them,  Mr.  Campbell.  I am  trying  to  get  the  facts. Mise  QUEEN.  In  May  the  aluminum  company  workers  declared  a strike.  I  understand  this  wras  not  a  labor  strike,  but  some  money had  been  promised  to  what  they  call  a  walking  delegate,  and  he  was not  paid  this  money,  and  so  the  strike  was  started.  I  do  not  know whether  you  understand  what  that  means.  I  frankly  admit  that  I do  not;  but  that  caused  the  strike.  The  aluminum  ore  factory  was working  day  and  night,  never  closing  its  doors,  on  Government  con- tracts, so  that  it  had  to  keep  on  going.  The  men  who  were  in  charge of  the  aluminum  ore  factory  sent  out  for  labor  in  any  section,  and there  was  a  large  response  of  negroes  and  a  few  foreigners.  There were  not  many  foreigners  in  the  place  by  that  time ;  they  had  nearly all  gone  away.  The  union  men  held  a"  meeting  in  the  city  hall  to protest  against  this,  and  because  of  that  occurred  the  riot  of  May  28. What  happened  on  May  28  ?  There  was  a  meeting  to  be  held. There  is  a  section  of  East  St.  Louis  which  is  called  the  Denver Rise,  and  that  section  has  long  been  known  as  a  section  where  bad negroes  live.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  decent  and  respectable  negro  did not  go  over  there  very  often,  and  very  rarely  did  a  white  person go  there,  and  at  the  going  on  of  this  union  meeting  an  automobile passed  through  the  Denver  Rise  with  five  white  men  in  it,  dressed  in civilian  clothing,  and  they  began  firing  promiscuously  right  and  left into  the  various  nouses,  and  by  the  time  they  had  gotten  through  men clutched  this  and  that,  whatever  they  had  in  the  way  of  weapons  of defense,  and  they  were  ready  then,  and  about  that  time  Detective  Sergt. Coppidge  and  Detective  Dailey  and  three  other  white  men  came through  the  city,  pursuing  this  first  crowd  in  an  automobile.  I understand  that  there  had  not  been  an  interval  of  15  minutes  since EIOT  AT  EAST   ST.    LOUIS,  ILLINOIS.  21 the  first  automobile  passed  through.  These  detective  officers  were also  in  civilian  clothing,  and  of  course  these  bad  men  supposed  it was  the-  same  crowd,  and  they  fired  upon  them,  instantly  killing Sergt.  Coppidge  and  wounding  Dailey  so  that  he  died  soon  after; and  when  this  automobile  rushed  into  the  street;  of  course  that naturally  started  the  mob,  and  when  it  reached  the  corner  of  Bond Avenue  and  Tenth  Street,  a  colored  man  named  Scott  Clark  was going  into  his  house  and  they  saw  him.  By  that  time  a  mob  had  col- lected, and  they  grabbed  this  man,  Scott  Clark,  and  said  "Let's hang  him  " ;  and  somebody  in  the  crowd  said,  "  Let's  drag  him  around a  little,"  and  so  with  a  rope  tied  around  his  neck  they  dragged  him around  the  street.  A  reporter  of  the  Post-Despatch  rushed  out  and begged  them  to  let  this  man  go.  He  said,  "  Why,  you  do  not  even know  him."  He  was  told  that  unless  he  got  out  of  the  way,  he  him- self in  five  minutes  would  be  dead.  It  was  3  o'clock  then,  and  for half  an  hour  they  tore  around  the  street  dragging  the  body  of  this man,  Scott  Clark,  until  they  reached  the  corner  of  Broadway  and Tenth  Streets.  There  they  strung  him  up.  Col.  Tripp  rushed  out  in person  and  cut  the  man  down.  He  was  practically  dead,  and  di«d that  evening  in  St.  Mary's  hospital. By  that  time  the  mob  had  gathered  strength.  It  is  impossible  to estimate  the  numbers,  because  it  was  so  organized  that  certain  sections of  it  were  sent  to  certain  sections  of  the  city,  and  so  that  it  was  never seen  moving  as  one  body.  I  have  in  my  hands  some  photographs  I was  allowed  to  take  under  military  escort  as  a  member  of  the  Red Cross.  It  was  prohibited  for  people  to  take  pictures,  at  first. One  of  the  cases  that  we  had  at  Red  Cross  headquarters  was  a case  of  a  little  girl  who  had  been  in  her  home.  She  was  8  years old.  The  crowd  asked  where  her  mother  was,  and  she  did  not  tell them,  she  really  not  knowing,  so  the  mob  cut  off -one  of  her  fingers on  each  hand  and  then  went  out.  When  they  had  gotten  out,  some one  in  the  mob  said,  "  You  didn't  do  enough  in  there,"  and  they  went back  and  amputated  her  left  arm  just  below  the  elbow. The  CHAIRMAN.  Did  you  see  that? Miss  QUEEN.  Yes;  I  saw  her  and  talked  with  her.  She  is  in charge  of  the  Red  Cross  there.  The  aim  of  the  mob  was,  first,  to find  out  where  negroes  lived,  and  they  started  down  by  where  a number  of  them  live.  It  was  a  very  clever  mob,  and  they  made  very sure  not  to  destroy  any  property  owned  by  white  people,  so  that when  it  came  to  a  place  where  colored  property  was  near  white  prop- erty, instead  of  burning  the  houses,  they  first  of  all  barred  up  the windows  so  as  to  make  sure  of  the  tenants,  and  then  an  armed  man stood  at  the  back  door  and  an  armed  man  at  the  front  door  and fired  through  the  windows.  It  was  also  a  frugal  mob,  because  after firing  tkrough  the  windows  they  went  in  and  took  out  every  useful piece  of  furniture,  especially  if  they  were  large  pieces,  and  carried them  to  the  homes  of  the  poorer  whites.  Some  of  the  furniture  has been  found  and  taken  back,  but  of  course  furniture  is  rather  difficult to  identify. Mr.  HARRISON.  How  many  were  in  that  mob? Miss  QUEEN.  The  mob  was  divided  into  groups,  and  I  have  heard persons  estimate  the  mob  at  all  the  way  from  50  to  1,500. Mr.  HARRISON.  What  was  the  character  of  the  mob  ? 22  RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.   LOUIS,  ILLINOIS. Miss  QUEEN.  You  mean  the  white  men,  etc. Mr.  HARRISON.  Yes. Miss  QUEEN.  It  seems  to  me,  from  what  I  have  been  able  to  get  at from  questioning — and  I  have  questioned  practically  every  official there  except  the  mayor,  who  will  not  receive  anybody;  because  of political  and  moral  conditions  in  East  St.  Louis  it  is  not  wise — that a  great  part  of  that  mob  did  not  even  belong  in  East  St.  Louis.  A great  part  of  it  came  from  around  in  different  parts  of  the  country. But  so  far  as  it  could  be  recognized,  they  were  what  you  would  call hoodlums;  and  one  thing  I  was  very  glad  to  find  when  I  got  there, that  the  women  in  that  mob  were  the  women  of  the  underworld. When  the  mob  could  not  control  the  riot  they  went  down  into  the underworld  and  let  out  those  women,  and  they  invented  the  most horrible  forms  of  cruelty.  Primarily  among  them  was  this:  The women  of  the  underworld  divided  into  two  groups,  one  at  the  corner of  Broad  Street  and  the  other  across  at  some  distance,  and  then  these women  would  go  down  and  get  a  colored  woman,  and  they  would take  her  and  entirely  strip  her  and  then  make  her  run  from  one group  to  the  other,  at  the  same  time  firing  at  her  feet  until  she dropped  dead.  At  the  municipal  lodging  house  a  woman  came  in, practically  unclothed,  for  protection — because  some  of  them  did escape  from  the  mob. As  you  know,  on  the  morning  of  the  riot  the  militia  went  to  the homes  of  the  colored  people  and  took  up  whatever  weapons  they  had, and  the  men  were  at  work  in  the  white-lead  factories  and  the  alumi- num factory  and  the  stock  yards,  and  the  women  gave  up  what  arms they  had,  and  the  people  were  unprotected;  so  that  in  the  evening, seeing  that  this  mob  was  getting  the  better  of  them,  they  rushed  to the  Eads  Bridge,  and  some  of  the  mob  had  preceded  them  there  and fired  upon  them,  and  they  would  catch  people  and  throw  them  bodily into  the  Mississippi  River,  and  every  day  bodies  are  being  given  up from  the  Mississippi.  So  that  then  they  started  and  went  right  for the  municipal  free  bridge.  I  have  here  a  picture  of  the  people  fleeing across  that  bridge.  That  is  just  a  small  portion  of  it  [indicating photograph].  There  is  one  that  shows  a  larger  number.  They  were fired  upon  until  they  reached  that  bridge ;  but  that  bridge  belongs  to Missouri — it  is  a  free  bridge — and,  of  course,  they  were  afraid  to follow  them  across  the  bridge. A  school-teacher  with  whom  I  talked,  and  for  whom  we  are  pro- viding as  well  as  we  can,  lived  in  a  very  beautiful  home  there,  and the  mob  was  undecided  whether  it  was  the  home  of  white  people  or colored  people.  The  residents  fled  to  the  cellar.  The  mob  discussed for  a  long  time  as  to  whether  or  not  white  or  colored  people  lived  in this  house.  Finally,  deciding  that  white  people  lived  in  it,  they  went away,  but  having  gone  to  the  corner  they  must  have  gotten  the  infor- mation that  colored  people  lived  there,  and  they  came  back,  and  then they  were  discussing,  and  one  of  the  men  said,  "  I  know  there  is  good furniture  in  that  house  and  I  wouldn't  burn  it."  They  said,  "We san  not  get  them  out,  if  there  is  anybody  in  there;"  and  this  young woman  told  me  that  she  and  her  mother  spent  an  hour  in  the  cellar trying  to  decide  which  would  be  the  easier  death,  to  run  out  and  be shot  down  or  to  stay  in  and  be  burned  to  death.  Fire  is,  of  course,  no respecter  of  races.  They  had  set  fire  to  this  flat,  which  was  occupied by  colored  school-teachers  [indicating  photograph].  The  fire  jumped RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.   LOUIS,  ILLINOIS.  23 from  that  place  and  caught  property  which  belonged  to  white  people, and  it  fell  with  a  crash.  When  this  crash  sounded  it  attracted  the attention  of  this  mob  which  was  around  the  other  school-teacher's house,  and  they  rushed  toward  it,  and  thereupon  the  mother  and grandmother  and  baby  ran  out  at  the  back  of  the  house  and  got inside  the  line  of  the  militia.  By  that  time  Col.  Trip  had  gotten  as good  control  of  the  mob  as  he  could  without  ammunition,  which  he says  he  had  not,  and  they  were  rushed  across  into  the  city  hall.  Here is  a  picture  of  the  people  going  into  the  city  hall.  Here  is  a  library and  there  is  an  apartment  house,  and  here  is  the  municipal  free  bridge [indicating  on  photograph]. One  of  the  women  in  the  hospital  told  us  when  they  came  across  to the  municipal  lodging  house,  which,  as  you  know,  is  owned  by  the city  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  to  house  men  who  are  out  of  work  during  the winter,  and  which  had  been  closed  for  some  time  and  was  then closed,  August  Small,  the  mayor  of  the  city,  got  there  at  2  o'clock  in the  morning.  This  started  at  12  o'clock  and  they  got  there  at  2 o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  they  could  not  get  the  place  open,  and finally  Mayor  Small  said,  "  We  have  got  to  break  the  door  open,"  and they  did;  and  it  is  absolutely  authentic  that  that  building,  which nominally  held  5,000  people,  had  10,000  people  rushed  in  there  during that  first  night,  and  two  men  committed  suicide  and  one  man  went crazy  and  ran  amuck,  and  50  people  developed  smallpox. The  CHAIRMAN.  I  do  not  want  to  interrupt  you,  but  I  would  like you  to  tell  me  what  you  know  about  these  people  going  back  and forth  to  work  there. Miss  QUEEN.  Yes.  Mr.  Hammard,  who  is  the  owner  of  the  white- lead  plant,  told  me  that  the  people  of  his  factories  and  others  there said  that  they  absolutely  would  not  go  back  there  to  work,  and  they said  that  they  must  have  protection,  so  that  Mr.  Hammard  and others  conferred  with  Maj.  Tripp,  and  they  gave  them  a  guard; and  even  to-day — unless  conditions  have  changed  in  the  last  48 hours— the  armed  guard  appear  at  the  Illinois  end  of  the  free  bridge every  morning  and  the  laborers  go  across  and  are  escorted  into East  St.  Louis,  into  the  very  factories  where  they  work,  and  in  the evening  these  same  armed  guards  meet  them  and  escort  them  again to  the  Illinois  end  of  the  bridge,  and  they  go  back  home.  There  are two  reasons  for  that.  First  of  all,  they  could  not  sleep  in  East  St. Louis,  because  all  the  property  has  been  destroyed  and  there  is nowhere  to  house  them  except  in  some  few  places  where  they  have been  sleeping,  and  the  second  reason  is  that  they  are  really  afraid to  stay  there.  Of  course,  no  one  can  get  any  ammunition  now.  So that  they  are  escorted  back  and  forth  each  day. The  CHAIRMAN.  That  has  continued  up  to  48  hours  ago  ? Miss  QUEEN.  Yes.  The  city  of  St.  Louis  is  in  bad  condition.  It has  forced  these  people  upon  them,  and  there  is  nowhere  else  to house  them.  Numbers  of  them  are  sleeping  in  cellars,  in  conditions where  they  might  breed  disease,  and  if  they  go  back  to  the  factories to  work  they  will  spread  that  disease,  without  regard  to  what  might happen  to  them  personally. Mr.  FOSTER.  You  said  a  little  while  ago  that  this  mob  was  made up,  as  I  understood  it,  of  these  lower-class  people  that  are  in  East St.  Louis. 24  BIOT  AT  EAST  ST.    LOUIS,  ILLINOIS. Miss  QUEEN.  I  am  quite  sure  of  it;  yes. Mr.  RODENBERG.  Dr.  Foster,  the  opinion  of  the  best  people  there is  that  all  the  actual  crime  and  killing  was  done  by  about  500  of those  people. Mr.  FOSTER.  Of  this  low  element? Mr.  RODENBERG.  And  they  claim  that  the  highest  number  that they  ever  saw  together  in  one  of  the  mobs  was  about  2,000,  and  that the  actual  work  of  destruction  and  murder  was  done  by  about  500 people. Miss  QUEEN.  Yes. The  CHAIRMAN.  Have  you  any  idea  who  the  leaders  of  the  mob were? Mr.  RODENBERG.  Yes;  they  have  quite  a  number  of  them  there, Mr.  FOSTER.  Is  it  your  opinion  that  they  will  be  able  to  find  those people  ? Mr.  RODENBERG.  They  will  find  some  of  them. Mr.  HARRISON.  Were  they  foreigners  generally? Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  do  not  know.     I  do  not  think  so. Miss  QUEEN.  The  general  opinion  seems  to  be  that  they  were  not. Many  of  the  foreigners  had  not  even  gone  into  the  city.  As  one  of the  gentlemen  said,  East  St.  Louis  seems  to  have  been  the  dumping ground  for  criminals  from  lots  of  places,  and  it  was  really  that  class that  rose  up. The  manufacturers,  even  with  all  the  negroes  that  have  been brought  in  there — and  some  of  them  even  that  work  at  skilled  labor — with  all  the  employees  they  had,  in  order  to  get  out  their  Govern- ment contracts  had  to  work  double  shifts.  For  this,  if  for  nothing else,  they  want  this  protection,  because  everyone  knows  that  the threat  is  all  around  the  city  that  as  soon  as  the  soldiers  are  removed they  are  going  to  start  again. Mr.  KELLY.  How  many  employees  were  there  in  the  Aluminum  Co.  ? Miss  QUEEN.  I  think  Mr.  Hammard  told  me  he  had  TOO. Mr.  RODENBERG.  Mr.  Hammard  is  the  white-lead  manufacturer? Miss  QUEEN.  Yes;  Mr.  Hammard  manufactures  white  lead. Mr.  KELLY.  Do  you  know  about  the  stockyards? Miss  QUEEN.  I  could  not  estimate,  but  I  know  that  he  said  great numbers  of  them  were  in  the  stockyards.  The  point  about  the  matter is  this,  that  the  larger  number  of  those  murdered  were  not  men,  but women  and  children.  I  know  of  an  actual  case  where  a  mother  in fleeing  gave  birth  to  twins.  She  was  held  by  a  mob  of  these  women of  the  underworld,  and  a  fire  was  built  in  front  of  her,  and  the  babies were  roasted  right  before  her  face.  That  woman  is  in  the  hospital. She  lost  her  mind  for  a  while. The  CHAIRMAN.  How  many  of  these  people  do  you  think  were murdered  in  these  riots? Miss  QUEEN.  There  are  two  reasons  why  you  can  not  tell.  You can  not  tell  just  how  many  were  burned  in  the  houses,  and  you  can not  estimate  how  many  were  thrown  living  or  dead  into  the  Mis- sissippi River;  and  the  undertakers  were  in  the  mob,  and  they backed  their  wagons  up  at  the  various  corners  and  as  fast  as  they killed  people  they  put  them,  in  the  undertakers'  wagons,  and  they were  put  in  rough  pine  boxes  and  buried  in  the  potter's  field  without any  identification. RIOT  AT  EAST   ST.    LOUIS,   ILLINOIS.  25 I  know  of  a  case  where  a  sexton  received  16  bodies  at  one  time,  and he  asked  "  Who  are  they  ? "  They  said,  "  None  of  your  business. Bury  them." The  only  way  you  can  make  any  actual  count  of  the  dead  is  by the  bodies  actually  seen.  Women  have  come  in  screaming,  saying their  husbands  were  dead,  and  then  it  has  been  found  through  the Red  Cross  thai  those  men  are  in  California,  employed  there. The  CHAIRMAN.  I  did  not  know  but  you  had  arrived  at  some opinion  of  your  own.  I  just  wanted  to  know  your  estimate. Miss  QUEEN.  At  Red  Cross  headquarters  the  estimate  is  no  more than  200  under  any  conditions. Mr.  DYER.  I  see  that  Congressman  Denison  received  an  estimate from  a  militiaman  who  was  there  and  saw  this  that  in  his  opinion the  number  was  more  than  500. Mr.  RODENBERG.  I  doubt  whether  it  would  reach  as  many  as  that. Mr.  RIORDAN.  One  of  the  papers  recently  said  the  number  was  325. Mr.  HARRISON.  Did  your  investigation  reveal  the  fact  that  German agents  had  anything  to  do  with  it? Miss  QUEEN.  No.  I  was  very  particular  about  that ;  and,  you  see, being  interpreter  for  these  people  and  using  the  German  language, I  was  able  to  get  a  good  deal  of  information  about  that,  and  it  was almost  impossible  for  me  to  suspect  any  German  influence  unless Germans  were  in  the  labor  unions — but  I  mean  German  influence  as it  is  spoken  of.  I  hardly  think  so.  And  you  see  this  thing  dated back  to  the  riot  of  Maj7  28,  when  they  had  a  clear  case  about  the other  cause,  and  it  was  just  a  continuation  of  the  same  thing.  Of course  that  may  be  brought  out,  but  I  think  everyone  is  confident that  that  is  not  so. You  see,  the  city  of  East  St.  Louis,  as  I  found  out  definitely,  had very  few  police,  and  on  the  day  of  the  riot  was  able  to  mobilize  only about  60,  including  plain-clothes  men.  Those  three  members  of  the police  force  that  were  shot  were  in  plain  clothes.  The  militia  that they  had  out  there  at  first  was  composed  of  raw  recruits.  Some  of  those young  men  had  hardly  ever  handled  a  gun  and  had  seen  no  service, and  they  had  been  around  the  city  fraternizing  with  the  other  young men  of  the  city,  and  they  hardly  knew  what  the  trouble  was  about. Another  thing,  the  city  fire  department  answered  a  fire  alarm  and the  mob  rushed  across  and  cut  the  hose  and  made  it  impossible  to throw  any  water  on  the  fire ;  and  a  Catholic  priest,  who  was  severely beaten  rp,  and  one  or  two  of  the  white  women  of  the  Red  Cross  have simply  bombarded  the  city  hall  to  get  permission  to  get  their  wit- nesses because  they  say  they  know  some  of  the  people. The  only  man  they  have  actually  taken  is  an  ice  man,  who  went into  a  house  and  said  to  a  little  girl,  "  Where  are  your  father  and mother?  "  He  had  delivered  ice  there  for  a  long  time.  She  said  she did  not  know,  and  he  threatened  to  shoot  her,  and  the  little  girl  said, "  Why,  ice  man,  you  surely  are  not  going  to  shoot  me ;  as  many  pieces of  ice  as  you  have  given  me,  you  surely  are  not  going  to  shoot  me now  ?  "  and  he  was  touched  and  went  down  and  gave  himself  up. The  CHAIRMAN.  There  will  be  no  difficulty  in  getting  the  names  of persons  who  know  about  them? Miss  QUEEN.  No:  I  can  give  you  the  statements  and  affidavits  of every  one  of  them,  and  you  can  write  to  these  people. 26  RIOT  AT  EAST  ST.    LOUIS,  ILLINOIS. Mr.  HARRISON.  According  to  the  statement  of  a  representative  of one  of  the  southern  districts,  hundreds  of  darkies  had  gone  from that  district,  and  after  the  riot  citizens  came  to  him  and  they  sent him  some  money  to  pay  the  way  of  these  darkies  back  to  Mississippi, those  that  wanted  to  go  back,  and  when  he  got  there  he  was  not  per- mitted to  see  them;  they  kept  these  men  away  from  them.  Do  you know  anything  about  that? Miss  QUEEN.  Yes;  I  do.  Three  days  after  the  riot  occurred  Mr. Roy  Belling  and  Mr.  James  Mann,  a  nephew  of  Congressman  Mann, and  Mr.  Crittenden,  of  Greenville,  Miss.,  were  seen  in  a  hotel  in East  St.  Louis.  First  of  all  they  went  to  the  alderman's  office  and asked  permission  to  take  the  laborers  back  to  Mississippi.  They were  told  that  with  the  great  supply  of  negroes  coming  in  there,  even yet  they  were  not  able  to  handle  the  Government  contracts,  and  that they  could  not  openly  solicit,  but  that  any  man  who  wanted  to  go back  was  perfectly  free,  and  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  him. Mr.  LeRoy  Billing  and  Mr.  Crittenden  and  Mr.  Mann  went  to  the Red  Cross  people  and  asked  permission  to  be  allowed  to  charter either  a  train  or  a  flat  boat  to  carry  back  to  Greenville,  Miss.,  as many  as  1,000  negroes.  Mr.  Mann  stated  that  they  estimated  that within  the  last  several  months  700  negroes  were  taken  away  from  his towyn,  which  had  only  a  population  of  12,000.  Permission  was  re- fused, and  when  the  motion  was  made  Mr.  Crittenden,  who  was  a member  of  the  committee,  seconded  the  motion. Mr.  Hubbard  of  the  association  which  is  handling  the  relief  work said  that  the  hospitals  were  overcrowded  in  St.  Louis.  The  mob  cut the  electric  wires,  so  that  the  surgeons  had  to  work  that  night  by flashes  held  in  their  hands ;  and  the  extra  labor  has  drained  the  city of  St.  Louis  to  the  extent  of  $10,000 ;  and  they  conceded  that  for  the work  of  rehabilitation  double  that  amount  would  be  required.  Of course,  if  these  riots  are  not  stopped,  every  time  the  Red  Cross  will be  called  on  and  there  will  be  expense  there. Mr.  DYER.  I  want  to  state,  while  you  gentlemen  are  considering this  resolution,  that  it  is  roughly  drawn.  I  have  not  had  much  ex- perience in  matters  of  this  kind.  If  you  desire  the  resolution  rein- troduced,  eliminating  useless  and  unnecessary  parts,  I  will  be  glad to  do  it.  I  will  be  glad  to  reintroduce  it  in  any  way  that  you  gen- tlemen want -it. The  CHAIRMAN.  We  will  give  this  matter  very  early  consideration. (At  12  o'clock  m.  the  committee  adjourned.) X OEMCO DHIFT   BINDER 30112045745673

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