by Gary Krist
9. The quotations from Goodyear officials were quoted in the CEP of July 23. The rumors of damaging testimony from Wacker were cited in the CDT of July 24.
10. The funeral services for Marea Florence were described in the CDT of July 24. (NB: The CDT identified her as “Maria,” but the Columns, likely to be more accurate, has her first name repeatedly as “Marea.”) “If you ever saw her smile” was quoted in the Columns, p. 6. Marcus Callopy’s death as per the CDT of July 24 and the Columns, p. 13.
11. The quotations from W. S. McClenathan are from the CDJ of July 23. “Statements by both sides in each meeting today” is from the CDN of the same date. The CEP of July 24 reported the union leader’s reassurances that no strike would take place until the completion of the commission investigation.
12. The mayor’s preparations for his trip to Cheyenne were widely reported. “A lariat and a pair of chaps in his valise” comes from the CDT of July 24. The committee’s invitation “to bring everybody who voted for [the mayor]” was cited in the CDJ of July 23. “Well stocked with ice for lemonades” is from ibid. Ettelson as Samuel Insull’s creature as per McDonald, Insull, p. 178. The CEP of July 23 noted Thompson’s assurance that they’d be missing only two and a half working days.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: THURSDAY, JULY 24
1. For the union’s intransigence on the eight-hour-day issue, see the CDN of July 24. The CEP of July 24 reported on the Wingfoot funerals. The scene at the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank (“Not a typewriter clicked”) was described in the CDT of July 25.
2. Goodyear’s public apology was printed in the CEP of July 24. The formation of the three-man commission as per the CDT of July 25. “In justice to our men” is quoted in the CEP of July 24.
3. The CEP of July 24 describes Senator Sherman’s bill and the city council’s ongoing work on an aviation bill. “I am going to do everything I can to help establish laws for the regulation of airships” was quoted in the CDT of July 25.
4. The interrogation of Fitzgerald, with quotations, was recounted in the CDN and CEP of July 24.
5. The questioning of Watson and Darby and the phone call to Mrs. Fitzgerald as per the CDN of July 24. The CHE of the same date reported on Lieutenant Howe’s rushing of the photograph to Bangor.
6. Details and quotations from Howe’s afternoon interrogation of Fitzgerald are from the CDN of July 24.
7. The analysis of the case by Detective Sergeant Powers, with all quotations, are from ibid.
8. Reports of sightings of Janet, as well as the false alarm at the Morrison Hotel, come from the CDT of July 25.
9. The scenes with Muriel Fitzgerald come principally from the CHE (“The reports about his peculiarities”), the CDN (“You did it, you did it”), and the CDT (“When I received that telegram”), all of July 25. Mrs. Fitzgerald’s appearance as per pictures and descriptions in the CEP and CDJ of July 25 and the CDT of July 26.
10. The finding of the revolver at the Virginia Hotel, as well as Lieutenant Howe’s dispatching of a pair of detectives to Michigan, as per the CDT of July 25. Wilkinson’s offer of a $500 reward was cited in the CDN of July 24.
11. The reports of other attacks on children and the calls on Alcock to institutionalize all suspected “morons” come from the CDT of July 24 and 25.
CHAPTER TWELVE: FRIDAY, JULY 25
1. The description of the week’s weather in Chicago is from reports in the CDT. For the scene between Muriel Fitzgerald and John Wilkinson, I have relied principally on the CEP of July 25 (“Oh, Mr. Wilkinson”) and the CDJ of the same date (“When I [first] received word that my husband was in trouble”).
2. Helen Hedin’s story as per the CDT of July 26. “The Handcuff King” episode as per the CDN of July 25. “I’m not the man” was quoted in the CEP of July 25.
3. Lieutenant Howe’s statement (“In my 25 years of police experience”) and the account of the ongoing interrogation (“Look at that picture”) are from the CDN of July 25.
4. The continuing search for Janet was described in the CDT of July 26.
5. “For two days and two nights” is from the CDJ of July 24. “I had put [the] baby doll away from her” was quoted in the CDT of July 25.
6. The long quotation (“When [Mrs. Fitzgerald] entered the door”) is from the CDJ of July 25.
7. “I have ordered the arrest of all half-wits” was quoted in the CEP of July 25.
8. The aura of mistrust was reported in the CHE of July 26; see also the CDN of July 25.
9. The scene at the Wingfoot inquest was described by several papers, each of which published slightly different accounts of the testimony. “What this man [Lipsner] has to offer is hearsay” was quoted in the CEP of July 25. “Wacker told me that he was nervous and scared” is from the CDJ of July 25. “He said that the blimp acted up,” is from CDT of July 26. “Wacker said that Carl Weaver,” is from CDJ of July 25. “Produce the evidence,” is from CDN of July 25. Lowery’s threat to clear the room as per the CEP of July 25.
10. The exchange among Lipsner, Mayer, and Maranville as reported in the CDT of July 26.
11. O’Brien’s demand that Boettner testify next is from the CDN of July 25. Boettner’s attire as per a picture in the CDT of July 26, in which his manner of testifying was also described. “We had no trouble during our flights on Monday” as quoted in the CDN of July 25. The rest of his testimony as reported in that issue of the CDN and in the CDT of July 26.
12. Conflicting reports on the origin point of the fire as per the CDT of July 26.
13. Details and all quotations from the transit talks in these paragraphs come from the CDJ of July 25.
14. Lowden’s arrival in Chicago and his closed-door meetings as per the CEP of July 25 “It is understood that some progress toward reconciliation was made” is from the CHE of July 26. “Frank telephones [to say] that the streetcar situation is very bad” is from Florence Lowden’s diary entry for July 25 (Pullman-Miller Family Papers).
15. Sandburg’s articles for the CDN were later reprinted in his pamphlet The Chicago Race Riots. “Deplore Unfounded Negro Crime Tales” appeared in the CDN of July 25. The CDT reported on the two French analyses in its July 25 edition.
16. For the New Negro sensibility and the DuBois quotation, see Boskin, Urban Racial Violence in the Twentieth Century, p. 41, and Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 209. Claude McKay’s poem was published in the Liberator 2 (July 1919), cited in Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 208.
17. “THE MAYOR SHOULD RETURN” was an editorial in the CEP of July 25. Big Bill’s cowboy outfit was described in the CDN of July 25. The rest of the details and quotations from Cheyenne were reported in the CDT of July 26.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SATURDAY, JULY 26
1. “All Chicago Seeks Solution of Missing Child Mystery” was the headline in the CDN of July 26. The “biggest question” quotation and the four hypotheses are from the CDJ of July 26.
2. The additional $2,500 reward was announced in the CDT of July 27. The flood of calls, telegrams, and letters, and the Dearborn Station false alarm, were reported in the CEP of July 26.
3. The sister superior’s admonition and the dragging of the lake as per the CEP of July 26.
4. The discovery of bones in the sewer was reported by the CDT of July 27.
5. Evidence given by Marie Pearson and William Harris as cited in the CDT of July 27. That of W. J. Hogan is from the CEP of July 26. The scene with Michael Kezick, with quotations, was described in the CDT of July 27.
6. “Ordinarily, the arrest of a suspect” is from the CEP of July 26, which also took note of the lack of any formal charges against Fitzgerald and Lieutenant Howe’s backup plan.
7. The manner of Fitzgerald’s interrogation as per the CDT of July 28. The CEP of July 26 described the prisoner’s fit of weeping. The CDT of July 28 noted Fitzgerald’s teasing of Captain Mueller about his hat. “He is the most stubborn and one of the shrewdest men I have ever questioned” is from the CEP of July 26 and the CDT of July 27.
&nb
sp; 8. The bringing in of five North Side women and their daughters, as well as the order to police to look for “another moron,” were reported in the CDT of July 27.
9. The questioning of Major York as per the CEP of July 26.
10. H. T. Kraft’s testimony is from the CDT of July 27 (“You know it is possible to test a dirigible on the ground”) and the CDN of July 26 (the virtual impossibility of leaking hydrogen to ignite).
11. “I have made an effort to see Wacker” was quoted in the CDT of July 27. The complaints of the businessmen’s jury as per the CEP of July 26.
12. The profile of Carl Sandburg appeared in the CDT of July 26. The Lowden boom in Washington was reported in the CHE of July 27. Emily Frankenstein’s resolution to finally “say goodbye” to Jerry as per her diary for July 26 (Emily Frankenstein Papers).
13. The witnessing of Judge Dolan’s fall comes from reports in the CDJ and CDN of July 26 and the CDT and CHE of July 27. The quotations from the two witnesses on the seventh floor were from the CDJ.
14. The same four papers covered the aftermath of the apparent suicide, but again, all quotations (except “He seemed jolly and carefree,” which is from the CHE of July 27) come from the CDJ of July 26, which had the most complete coverage of the incident. For the Judges vs. Lawyers baseball game, see the CDT of June 11.
15. Afternoon temperatures as per the CDT of July 27 and Florence Lowden’s diary. “Negotiations are over” was quoted in the CDN of July 26. “Chicago is in for a streetcar strike” is from the CEP of July 26.
16. All of the daily papers had remarkably detailed reports on the culmination of Fitzgerald’s interrogation, the most complete being those in the CDT and CHE of July 28. All quotations in this section are from the former.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 27
1. The confession scene, with quotations, comes from the reports published in the CDT and CHE of July 28.
2. The scenes in the Chicago Avenue station and in the basement of the East Superior Street duplex, with quotations, are also as reported in ibid.
3. The CDT and CHE of July 28 also had the most thorough accounts of the crowds out on East Superior Street, though the shouts (“Lynch him!” “String him up!”) are as reported in the same day’s CEP.
4. All quotations in the taxicab scene are from the CHE of July 28, with additional details from the CDT and CEP of the same date.
5. The CEP of July 28 is my principal source for the scene back at the Chicago Avenue station. The reports of “ill-concealed weapons” as per the CHE of that date. That day’s CDT has an account of M. F. Sullivan’s interrogation of Fitzgerald. (NB: Among the inconsistencies cleared up was the fact that Marjorie Burke was mistaken about when Fitzgerald and Janet Wilkinson met on the street; it apparently happened before the girls’ trip to the playground, not after.) The July 28 CEP depicted Fitzgerald as “cool,” while the same day’s CDT described him as “a picture of control.” “Don’t let them hang me” and Hoyne’s appointment of James O’Brien (whose nickname “Ropes” was noted in the CDN of July 28) as per the CDT of that date.
6. “Acting Chief Alcock already has issued orders” is from the CEP of July 26. “This case should cause the people of Chicago to demand a special session of the legislature” was quoted in the CDT of July 28.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SUNDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 27
1. The story of the five boys’ excursion to the Hot and Cold comes from Tuttle, Race Riot, pp. 3–10. (NB: Tuttle interviewed John Harris in 1969.)
2. The account of the racial confrontation at the Twenty-ninth Street beach was reported by all of the newspapers, though I have relied most heavily here on the CEP of July 28. For this episode of the riot and for those that follow in subsequent chapters, I have relied on numerous other sources. The 1919 race riot has been extraordinarily well documented. The most comprehensive treatment, based on many months of field interviews conducted by a staff of researchers, is TNIC, the 650-page report of the Chicago Commission on Race Relations. Other important works on the topic, besides Tuttle, Race Riot, include Grossman, Land of Hope; Spear, Black Chicago; Philpott, Slum and the Ghetto; and Sandburg, Chicago Race Riots; as well as Grimshaw, Racial Violence in the United States; and Waskow: From Race Riot to Sit-in. Of the numerous essays and articles on the riot, Pacyga, “Chicago’s 1919 Race Riot,” collected in Mohl, Making of Urban America, deserves special mention for the light it casts on the ethnic and class aspects of the riot, often given short shrift by other works that emphasize the racial aspects exclusively.
3. All of the quotations in this section come from Tuttle, Race Riot, pp. 6–7. (NB: According to TNIC, p. 4, the coroner later found no contusion or other indication that Eugene Williams had actually been hit by the rock; the coroner therefore concluded that the boy had died by drowning when he couldn’t reach shore because of the rock throwing. John Harris may indeed have embroidered the incident in his interview with Tuttle fifty years after the fact [the blood-in-the-water detail, for instance, may be a trick of memory]; however, it should also be noted that coroners at this time typically had little or no medical training [though some on their staff did], and even TNIC admits that “rumor had it that [Eugene] had actually been hit by one of the stones and drowned as a result.”) Officer Callahan’s retreat to a nearby drugstore as per the CEP of July 28.
4. The CDT of July 28 estimated the crowd at one thousand people. Exaggerated rumors as per Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 8. The white bathers who helped search for Eugene Williams were noted in TNIC, p. 5.
5. The shooting incidents are most thoroughly described in TNIC, pp. 5, 660. The CEP of July 28 identified the black policeman as Jesse Igoe. The escalation of the riot (“bubbling cauldrons of action”) was best described in the CDT of July 28.
6. For the reaction of the athletic clubs to the beach rioting, see Tuttle, Race Riot, pp. 32–33. Richard J. Daley’s membership in the Hamburg Athletic Club is discussed in Cohen and Taylor, American Pharaoh, pp. 27–36. (NB: While there is no hard evidence that Daley participated in the rioting, as Cohen and Taylor write, “he was, at the very least, extremely close to the violence.”)
7. Some individual instances of violence were reported by only one or two newspapers. The locations of the major confrontations as per the CHE and CEP of July 28. The CDT of July 28 reported on the white crowds shooting at streetcars. The tapering off of violence overnight as per Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 34. The day’s toll of dead and injured as reported in the CDT of July 28.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: MONDAY, JULY 28
1. Mayor Thompson’s impromptu press conference at Union Station was covered most completely by the afternoon papers. The dialogue in this section comes from the CEP and the CDJ of July 28. Thompson’s telegram to Alcock, sent while in Cheyenne, was mentioned in the CDN of July 28.
2. Details of the car negotiations and the quotation from Governor Lowden come from the CDT of July 29. The CDN’s praise of Lowden appeared in an editorial in the July 28 edition.
3. Chief Garrity cited the number of police at 3,500; see TNIC, p. 36. The quotation from Michael Gallery is from the CEP of July 28. (NB: Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 34, differs on the exact wording.)
4. Chief Garrity’s qualms about the militia as per Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 35. For the most complete account of the People’s Council incident, see Thurner, “Mayor, the Governor, and the People’s Council.” “In case rioting should break out” is quoted in ibid., p. 137. “A treasonable conspiracy” and “Freedom of speech will be respected” are quoted in ibid., p. 138. Garrity’s announcement (“even if it becomes necessary to fill every jail in Chicago”) comes from Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 35.
5. Details in this paragraph come from various sources. For Fitzgerald’s suicide watch, see the CDT of July 29. For the overflowing crowds on the street, see the CDN of July 28. “Send him out here and we’ll hang him for you!” was quoted in the CEP of July 28. “You can never tell what will happen” was cited by the CDJ of July 28.
6. Each of t
he papers had a slightly different account of the very brief coroner’s inquest session. I have taken the quotations from the CEP of July 28.
7. The quotation from Hoyne and the announcement from Crowe are both from the CDN of July 28.
8. The quotations from O’Brien are from the CEP of July 28. That day’s CDN noted that he was wearing his hanging tie. “Fitzgerald may be a moron” is from the CDT of the same date.
9. The twenty-five incidents in Chicago that year as per the CDT of July 28. The next day’s edition of that paper cited the official’s estimate of two hundred cases per year. “There is but one solution to the whole problem” was quoted in the CDN of July 28.
10. The scene of Janet’s casket being carried into the duplex was described in the CDJ of July 28 and in the CDT of July 29. The CDN of July 29 noted that many mourners remained on the street through the night.
11. For the gangs of white youths waiting just outside the yards, see TNIC, p. 6. The attack on Oscar Dozier was described in ibid., p. 656.
12. For the attacks on streetcars, see Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 37, and TNIC, pp. 656–57. (NB: The latter book describes the weapon used to kill John Mills as a “scantling.”)
13. The ineffectiveness of the police was widely remarked upon in the press and later by the coroner’s jury. Stories that they “were all fixed and told to lay off on club members” come from TNIC, p. 12. The arrest of Joseph Scott as per ibid., p. 659.
14. The unusually aggressive self-defense of blacks in the riot was a recurrent theme in much of the press coverage, particularly in the black weeklies. The CDN of July 28 reported the crowd at Thirty-fifth and State as three hundred; Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 40, puts it at four thousand (admittedly, the crowds in this location grew throughout the evening). The rumored invasion of the Black Belt by “an army of whites” as per Tuttle, Race Riot, p. 40. The killing of Casmere Lazzeroni as described in TNIC, p. 663. Eugene Temple’s murder as described in ibid., p. 658.
