RIOTOUS SOLDIERS INVADE THE CITY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2702, 23 February 1916, Page 7

RIOTOUS SOLDIERS INVADE THE CITY

PICKETS FIRE ON THE MOB

ONE MAN KILLED: SEVERAL WOUNDED

The following extracts from the Sydney Press supplement the account which was published in The Dominion yesterday of the military riots which took place at Liverpool last week. The censorship was responsible for the fact that nothing was cabled about the mutiny at the time, although the Sydney papers published columns of descriptive matter about the outbreak. As one paper described it, it i\as the most disgraceful outburst in the history of the country.

Dissatisfaction at having to do a little extra, drill at Liverpool Camp, tlie main training ground of the Australian Expeditionary Foroes, culminated in a disgraceful mutiny and riotous behaviour on the paTt of a largo number of soldiers in Sydney last week.

However, in the majority of cases, it was tolerated.

About breakfast time about 5000 troops of the Australian Imperial Forces, camped at Casula, near Liverpool, refused duty,. and demanded tho retraction of a new training syllabus which had been issued that morning. When it was explained to them that the hew syllabus was a camp order issued from and could not ba treated in that cavalier fashion, almost the whole body of men marched out of the camp and oil to tho town of Liverpool. Arrived at Liverpool, the principal training camp of the Commonwealth, the men called to their collagues there, Mid in a few minutes' time about 15,000 soldiers . were on strike. Led by a comparatively few irresponsible young privates, in somo cases already half drunk, though the day had not long started, thousands of soldiers simply took possession 'of the trains from Liverpool, and subsequently wrecked business houses. Drunken Orgies In the Streets. • l'he men marched out of oamp into Livcrjyiol, and a large body of men at once commenced to wreck tho bar and adjoining parlours of the Commercial Hotel, and also the cellars, . and succeded in removing stock and inflicting damages which the licensee esti-

mates at £2000. The men, after tak-' ing every available bottle of liquor in the bars, broke open the cellar, and hauled 11 hogsheads of beer, rum, wine, whisky, etc., out into Scptt Street, where they were tapped, and pots and pans were taken from the hotel kitchen and used as drinking utensils. A raid was also made on the bulk store, where £1500 of stock was stored, and an axo was used to smash the doors and windows, hut the efforts of the police blocked further robbery: Messrs. A. Comino and Co.'s • premises were raided, and the largo plateglasa windows smashed to atoms. The Golden Fleece Hotel was next made a mark for the mon'ft attentions, and 'tlio licensee, Mr. J. J. Crowe, was left poorer by £700 worth of stock, and damages by the now drinkinfuriated men.

Near George Street, Haymarket, tho men broke up into two bodies, somo following the battalion colours, others tho red-flag-topped Union Jaok. The followers of the latter set off down George Street. Except for the frequent raids on vehicles, the men were fairly orderly. Their numbers, however, were diminishing rapidly. At every hotol men broke away, and occasionally other batches deserted tho ranks. Still, when they reached Circular Quay, the men wore in fair strength. Hero they tried to invade the Manly ferry wharf, but Sergt. Marshall and four other police who had accompanied the men over the greater part of the march planted themselves at the turnstiles, and kept the soldiers away. Frofri the Quay the men then marched, to tho Con£ervatorium outside Government House grounds, and thence to the Domain Gates, where a fow minutes' "smoko" was held. .Tlio column was now only half its former strength, but it made an effort to take possession of the Assembly Hotel, opposite'the Police Headquarters. Sergt. Marshall and his four men wero not strong" enough to eject them, so a squad ol men from headquarters—mostly "inside" men—came to the rescue. Every soldier was put out of the hotel, and the doors were closed.

When tho procession marched from Circular Quay past the Board of Health Office, at the corner of Macquario Street, a number'-of taxi-cabs wero in waiting there. The drivprs saw the soldiers coming, and at once made off with 'their cars at a smart pace. The first part of the procession tried to intercept the last oar, but tho, driver was _ too smart, and got clean away. The drivers were evidently taking no risks of having their cars commandeered. In Castlereagh Street the men took charge of a wagon belonging to Starko.v's Aerated Waters Company, and emptied it of all its contents. The' bottles and syphons, after they had drunk their contents, were then thrown about tlie street and at'inoffensive people passing. The next victim was a Chinaman, whose handcart was promptly captured and tho contents were strewn along the streets, hi Rawson Place the rioters raided the street fruiterers, and in a few moments the content.?, of the carts woro being fought for amongst themselves. From a brewer's cart a barrel of beer was seized.

, One soldier, waving a broom over his head, and hitting out wildly, was arrested at tiTts 'Broadway and taken to the lock-up. Some of his comrades, .who Btill retained the bottles stolen from Starkey's, then threw them at thepolice, one hitting Constable Gordon and wounding him to such an extent as to necessitate his removal to the hos-' pita!. Cuefilla Riots at Night. In the evening it seemed to be the strategy of the rioting soldiers to break up into small parties. By '.his means they eluded tho more rigid control of tho police, who, by about 8 o'clock, were out in full _ force.. However, tlie police were particularly energetic and alert, and many of the dangorous threats openly voiced by 'the soldiers during the afternoon -were never realised, It was tho policy of tho police tj keep tlie soldiers as close as possible to the middle of the city, where they could bo more effectively dealt with. There had been some rumours that the men intended to visit certain business places on tho outskirts of tho city, but tho vigilant watch kopt upon them frustrated this idea. The result was that tho men in uniform wero wandering more or less aimlessly about the city for the best part of the night, and no very serious trouble Vevond the smashing of some windows resulted. Tho precautionary moasuro of closing tho hotels undoubtedly had tho effect of damping the spirits of the moro dangerously inclined, and of keeping sober those who needed only the influence of ,a drink or two to render them danger* ous. Some men in uniform obtained drink from somewhere, and from these occasionally were heard a few foolish threats and remarks, such as "We won't go back to Liverpool," and "We won't work eight hours."

A small force of police arrived,' but li was powerless to interfere. At 4 p.m. e and in later trains from the city rein- !< forcemeats' of police under Inspector b Berry arrived, and the men quietened £ down considerably. Several attacks on p ?T]'e ptifice were made,' Constable Tillet, n of Cabramatta, being punched about the t face. Another soldier attempted to f assault Constable Heckenberg, of Parramatta, But n'as promptly arrested. During tWmorning tho.fruit and piestalls in the street fronting Holds- E worthy bridge were wrecked, and tha i t proprietors were forced to run for their ( lives, while bakers' and cordial carts | were ransacked. At the railway sta- , tion tlie men swarmed on to all the ] available trains armed with bottles and , flasks, and all more or less in a state - of intoxication; while in the- streets of , Liverpool men fought and struggled ; with one another. All the hotels were closed early in the morning, and police guards were stationed over them. Mutineers In Sydney. The first batch of the camp-breakerj arrived at the Central' Railway Station in the 11.13 train from Liverpool. Among the train-load of soldiers were some of the rowdy type, and, as usual on occasions of lawlessness, these asserted themselves on the journey down. Windows were smashed, and, notwithstanding the presence of women and children on the train, some of the men behaved like hoodlums. Arrived at Sydney, the soldiers formed up in a rough column of fours, and, headed by soma men carrying flao;s, set off far tlie'city, . to tlio accompaniment of' the discordant noise of trumpets and scraps of songs. The last train from Liverpool prioi to tlio cancellation of the service to tho camp towr. was packed with soldiers. These, evidently under someone's leadership, quickly formed tip in foura on the assembly platform. ( At tlio head of the long lino were two buglers and two "standard-bearers," one of the latter carrying tlie green and purple colours of the stli Reinforcements of the 2nd Battalion, and the other holding aloft on a clothes prop the Union Jack, surmounted by a small red flag. This small flag was only an advertisement. In a very short time the men had marched off the station down Pitt Street; tmd into Hay Street. Here they made a really fine picture, and, keeping good time, the fours propprly dressed, tho men marched as if on parade. With this exception—they were very noisy. They informed all and sundry what they thought of tho camri ftii'l of the new regulations. Round into Elizabeth i Street and back: to the station', again, and then tho soldiers junctioned with another body of strikers. Raid on the Fruit Stalls. Near one of the Elizabeth Street approaches to the station was the "Pomona." fruit stall. One of the soldiers made for it, another followed, and in a few seconds the stall was surrounded bv a surging mass of riotous soldiery. All the, fruit was taken—and tho soldiers spared nothing of tho vehicle to get it. Tlie men started to pelt tho big crowd that' was watching the proceedings from the balcony- of tho_ station and oue of the tramway bridges. Oranges, peaches, bananas, all flew about, but misses were more frequent than hits. The soldiers, still in fours, then proceeded to tho fruit stalls at the other end of tho station. Olio soldier made to help himself to tho contents of a barrow, but he was so fiercely.attacked by the boyish-looking proprietor that ho was driven off. Then an A.M.C. non-commissioned man jumped up on to a borrow and started to harangue tho men. Ho exhorted them to play tho game, to give tlie barrowinon a chance, and to get going again. His words had effect. The stalls Were left alono, the men formed up and recommenced their "protost" march. Some of the men started to commandeer different vehicles. Motor-cars, motor bicycles, lorries, drays, on all of these the'"men deposited themselves without ae much as "with jour leave."

Shortly after 8 o'clock a crowd of men in uniform, moved up Hunter Street, and seeing, presumably, a shop with ail alien name, Kleisdorff, the tobacconist; at the corner of Hunter and Castlcrcagh Streets, men in the King's uniform picked up ammunition, which was lying handy opposite the Police fteadquart-ers, and in a few seconds had reduced the fine plate-glass windows of Kloisdorff's in Castlereach Street, to spears of broken glass. Two men, civilians, were arrested by the, police, and, followed by a great mob of military and civilians, the police mattaged to get tho men to Macquarie Street. Here a hitch, occurred, but in the end the representatives of civil law forced tlieir way out with their prisi oners towards the Central Police Station, In tho meantime mounted police had tfeen summoned, and at 8.20 eleven mounted constables paraded before the Police Hadquartors, at the junction of Hunter and Phillip Streets, :,ud moved off to hack up tho work of their comrades on foot.

During the attack on Kleisdorff's tobacconist shop, at the corner of Castlereagh and Hunter Streets, Sergeant English and Sergeant-Major O'Donnell, of the police, noticed a man kick in a portion of the window and abstract something, and bolt. They gave chase, and as lie would not slaoken bis speed they drew their revolvers, ?nd called upon him to stop. This he did, and on being arrested was 'searched, when a box of cigars was discovered hidden in his tunic.