Police Forbidden to Use Their Firearms to Withhold Rioters.

Police Forbidden To Use There Firearms To Withold Rioters

Several Officers Injured by
Bricks and Other Missiles
Thrown by Mob.

Force Totally Inadequate to
Handle Situation, Says
Murnian.

Believes Order Not to Use
Arms Saved Many
From Injury.

The police force of Duluth was totally inadequate to handle a situation like that which developed last night, was the assertion of Commissioner of Safety W. F. Murnian this morning, regarding the lynching last night. Every effort was made to control the mob, but it was so large that the police as well as the Sheriff’s force were handicapped from the start. Strict orders from Commissioner Murnian that under no provocation were any of the police to use fire arms, doubtless prevented much bloodshed although many of the police were injured by flying bricks and stones. None of them were handled by the mob with the exception of Sergeant Oscar Olson, who strove to the last to prevent the mob from reaching the prisoners.
“Even if we had had a much larger force of police on hand. I don’t see how they could have stopped that crowd,” said Mr. Murnian. “We did everything in our power and had every force that could be assembled including the fire department, and fought the mob until the last policeman was overpowered, before giving up. It simply was impossible to stop them. The condition of the police headquarters plainly shows what the spirit illegible mob was. I gave strict orders to illegible the men to use firearms under illegible consideration and I believe this had a great deal to do with the lack of serious injuries.”
Chief John Murphy, Capt. A. G. Fisket and Chief of Detectives Frank Schulte had left for Virginia at noon to search for three other Negroes implicated in the assault and the police affairs were temporarily in charge of Sergeant Oscar Olson. Chief Murphy, with eight prisoners was on his way back to Duluth, when he was met and informed that “’hell was poppin’ in Duluth.” The prisoners were hastily rushed to the late train and the po-

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POLICE FORBIDDEN TO USE THEIR FIREARMS TO WITHHOLD RIOTERS

(Continued from page 1.)

lice claim, sent to St. Paul. The three remaining prisoners left in the jail by the mob were also sent out the back way and to the same train.
On the arrival of Chief Murphy and Capt. Fiskett a hasty conference was held to ascertain just what could be done, but as the mob had the prisoners and had left the building, the only thing that could be done was to clear the streets of the mob. As they had satisfied their revenge, this was done without much trouble.
Chief Murphy expressed regret that some action and not been taken earlier in the evening when the mob first began to gather and to stop the trucks from running up and down Superior street picking up crowds with the invitation to “join the neck-tie party.”
A number of the policemen were severely bruised and needed the attention of the police surgeon. Officer Mart Stewart was the most severely injured being hit in the arm by a brick.