THE CINCINNATI RIOT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 5, 23 May 1884, Page 23

THE CINCINNATI RIOT.

Oijk of the most desperate riots that ever occurred in this country began at Cincinnati on the evening of March 28th, and was continued on the two succeeding nights. The immediate cause was a failure of justice in the trial of a most atrocious case of deliberate murder. William Berner, the murderer, had confessed that himself and one Palmer killed and robbed his employer, W. H. Kirk ; nevertheless, the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter only, and Berner was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. The conviction that corrupt .methods had been employed in behalf of the murderer, and that it was useless to expect justice from the regular courts, induced the German-Americans to organise for the purpose of repressing crime. The fact that forty-two unhung mupderera were in the Cincinnati gaol, and that most of all of them were likely to cheat the gallows, did not tend to reconcile the people to Berner's escape from his deserts. Among those murderers were two wife-killers, oae murderer of his own son, and two wretches who had killed a man, his wife and daughter. Palmer, the accomplice of Berner, was also in the gaol. Ten thousand persons gathered at the Music Hall on Friday evening, in response to a call by reputable citizens to take action on the Berner verdict, most of whom could not get inside the building. Strong resolutions were adopted condemning the verdict, and °a Committee on Legislation was appointed. Tho meeting was presided over by Mr. A. C. Kemper, who made a conservative speech, taking for his topic the prevalence of crime throughout the whole country. Hia remarks were not intended to avvakan a mob spirit, but when the meeting adjourned the people by a common impulse moved down Twelfth Street, where shouts began to be uttered, " To the gaol 1" and the crowd then moved bodily in that direction and began an attack on the front door. At forty minutes past niae, p.m. .the riot alarm was sounded, summoning the entire police force to the gaol, the vast crowds of people gathering in that vicinity rapidly increasing. The attack upon the gaol was led by a negro. Under his direction a heavy scantling was used as a battering-ram against the north outside door of the gaol, and a hole was broken large enough to admit of the passage of a man's body. Meantime the gaoler's house had been entered, and through the two passages the mob finally forced its way into the gaol. Here they were met by a body of police under charge of Chief Reilly, who had come in through a secret tunnel, leading from the Courthouse, and seventeen of the rioters were seized and locked up in cells. While the police and rioters were struggling, a company of militia entered the gaol through tne tunnel. Two police officers guarded the gaol end of the tunnel, and they threw up their hands as the militia entered, crying, " For God's sake, don"t shoot ; you'll kill your friends Il'I 1 ' But the warning came too late. A storm of bullets rattled through the tunnel, and Offijer Nunn fell pierced with four balls, anJ Officer Von Seggern was hit in the , head. The soldiers then rushed into the gaol and helped to clear the rest of the building and to guard the doors. The lynchers Bce.ned to be all the more furious by their defeat, and, rallying on the outside, spent nearly two hours in attempting to fire the gaol. First, a barrel of coal-oil was poured into the basement and set on fire, but the police extinguished it. Another fire was lighted by some meaas ■ { in the keeper's office, but the gaol, being of stone and iron, was proof against the flames.

Fourteen killed and thirty-one wounded was the record of the first night's rioting. By Saturday morning the soldiers had picketed the streets leading to the gaol and formed a " dead line " on each avenue of approach. The rioters had sacked an armory and a gunstore, and were frenzied with indignation at the killing of their companions. The German Turners' Society voted to join the rioters and avenge their friends' massacre. The attack on the gaol was renewed on Saturday night, but was as unsuccessful as before. The mob then set fire to the Court House which had been left unprotected through the fatal bad judgment of the authorities. The costly building, with many thousand inestimable records, was wholly consumed. One of the most melancholy events of the night was the killing of Captain J. Desmond. He had been advised of the purpose to burn the Court House, and was sent with a squad of militia to try to put out the fire. The mob fired on him and the ball crashed through his head. At the same time Private McGuire wat shot through the breast and fatally hurt. There was no use now trying to stop the incendiaries. They went from office to office starting fires, and in a few minutes the inside of the Court House glowed like a furnace. The fire department was powerless, first, because the firemen refused to go out without an escort of troops, and second, because the crowd could easily cut the hose and prevent the use of the engines. Office after office was reached by the flames, and as the floors fell the crowd cheered. Meanwhile Governor Hoadley had despatched the 14th and 4th regiments of militia from Columbus. It was nearly midnight when the 14th regiment reached the scene. They, with determined pluck and skill formed for the fearful work 1 of clearing the streets, which they accomplished with bloodshed. „ . The *£ h "giment arrived later, but through cowardice or lack of discipline fcled to be of any use to the authorities. On Sunday ! morning the rioters got possession of sir pieces of artillery, but having no powder were unable to use them. The police under General Moore recaptured three brass six-pounders. The police throughout showed themselves much better qualified than the militia to deal with rioters. A squad of soldiers fired on a crowd of boys who had celled them names," on Sunday afternoon, killing one young man and wounding two or three others. By Monday morning the police had resumed control of the streets and reported the city perfectly quiet. The whole militia of the State had been called out by Governor Hoadley, and detachments from nearly every regiment arrived to support the civil authorities. Secretary Lincoln also ordered a detail of regulars to guard United States property. The object of all this outrageous fury had meantime not only escaped from the mob but even the officers of the law themselves, thanks to the carelessness of Deputy Sheriff Devoto, who had neglected to hand-cuff his prisoner while he was being removed from the gaol to the penitentiary. Beraer was disguised on Friday afternoon and driven in a buggy to Linwood, where they boarded the Morrow accommodation train for Loveland, and there awaited Deputy, Sheriff Moses with the necessary papers for the prisoner's committal Although every thing was done with the greatest secrecy, their arrival at Loveland became known, aud when the train with Moses approached the station the greatest excitement prevailed. Devoto and his prisoner boarded the train, and this was Berner's opportunity. He sprang into the " ladies car," accidentally knocking a woman down. A passenger shouted, " Train robber, shoot him." Four revolvers were drawn, but Berner was too quick for them and disappeared out of the other end of the car, and escaped down the river bank. Scouting parties were at once sent out, but he managed to evade the officers until Saturday afternoon, when he was caught at Foster's Crossing and brought by train to Miamiville in the direction of Cincinnati, where he was transferred to the Columbus accommodation train and locked up in an express car. He passed Loveland and Morrow all right on his way to Columbus, where he arrived and was placed in the penitentiary at 8 o'clock. This cold-blooded murderer is only eighteen years of age. A carefully revised list of the killed during the riot, shows thirtynine killed and 122 wounded. It is probable that a nearly equal number of slightly wounded, not included in this list, went to their homes and will never be reported. — Pilot.