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were thrown into a frenzy of angry excitement by an
attack of the employees of the R. Hoe Printing Press
Company, on Grand street, near the ferry. A free fight
which rapidly developed into a general riot followed;
the funeral procession was interrupted, and there was
intense excitement throughout the neighborhood for some
time. The police were unable to cope with the crowd,
although they used their clubs freely. A general alarm
was sent into all the nearby police stations, and the
reserves were called out. Many of the Hebrews i the
procession were injured and eight arrests are known to
have been made. Whether any of the injuries were serious
or not is not known.
The riot in Manhattan, of which only incomplete reports
have yet been made by the police, was followed only an
hour later by a similar disturbance in Brooklyn. This
occurred after the hearse bearing the body of Rabbi
Joseph had crossed the Grand street ferry and was on its
way toward Union Field Cemetery at Cypress Hills, where
the interment is to take place. Proceeding from the
Grand street ferry the hearse was followed by a
procession of at least five thousand Hebrews, shouting
and moaning. "Our Rabbi is dead! Our Rabbi is dead! God
have mercy on us!"
When the procession reached the corner of Kent avenue
and South Sixth street it was passing the building owned
by former Mayor Wurster; some one threw a heavy block of
wood from an upper window, which landed in the midst of
the mourning procession. The throng which had been
stirred to the highest excitement by the attack in
Manhattan, set up a howl which could be heard
for many blocks and before the police could anticipate
the action charged on the building. Captain Martin Short
was nearby and had stationed the reserve police from
neighboring precincts along the street. The angry mob of
Hebrews broke through the line of policemen like paper
and burst in the door of the Wurster Building.
Captain Short called all the policemen within earshot
and rushed in after them. Several bluecoats stood at the
door and with drawn clubs prevented the ingress of any
more of the angry Hebrews, while Captain Short, with a
squad of policemen, followed those who were already
inside and in a few moments had thrown them out through
the door.
Captain Short made an immediate investigation to learn
the cause of the disturbance and found that the block of
wood had been thrown by a man named William Price, a
workman in the building. Before the arrival of the
police at the upper story Price had disappeared and
could not be found. Captain Short has ordered his
arrest.
The funeral of Rabbi Jacob Joseph, who was the
recognized head of the orthodox Jews of North America,
was the occasion today of the greatest demonstration by
the Hebrews in New York which has taken place in many
years. Thousands and thousands of Hebrews thronged the
East Side streets and bowed reverently as the body of
the chief rabbi was conveyed in a hearse to the
different Jewish churches at noon today.
Business was generally suspended in that locality, and
men, women and children stood in every place of vantage
along the route. Directly in front of the house where
the body has laid in state for the past few days over
100 patrolmen kept the surging crowd from the entrance
with considerable difficulty.
At 11:30 A.M. services were held in the late home of the
Rabbi, 262 Henry street, by Rabbi Dr. Klein of the
Hungarian Church. Only relatives and the visiting Rabbis
were present. After the exercises the body was placed in
a plain wooden box, then in a hearse and the procession
proceeded to the six Jewish synagogues, where five
minute services were held. The synagogues are situated
on Madison street, Pike street, Eldridge street, Forsyth
street, and two on Norfolk street.
Preceding the hearse were about 1,000 boys from the
Hebrew schools of this city and Brooklyn. The last
services were held about 1 o'clock and the mourners then
took the ferry for Brooklyn. The committee in charge of
the funeral were Rabbi Philip Jacobs, Israel Levy,
Bennie Shapiro, Y.B. Shapiro, S. Andron, Mr. Lubetkin
and Mr. Lampeat.
Early this morning the Hebrews of the Eastern District
of Brownsville, and in fact of all Brooklyn, began to
assemble about the ferries at the foot of Broadway to
await the arrival of the funeral procession of Rabbi
Joseph. Never as the district witnessed the assembling
of such a throng for such an event. The streets in the
neighborhood were completely blocked and the passage of
cars and other vehicles was rendered impossible. The
throng included men, women and children from all walks
of life.
No adequate preparation had been made for the event by
the police and many hours before the procession was
expected to arrive the local bluecoats found it
impossible to handle the throng. Upon all sides were
heard the doleful voices of mourners, chanting the
words, "Our rabbi is dead! The great Lord have mercy
upon us!" The throng was greatly increased and the
difficulties of the police aggravated by hundreds of
interested spectators who gathered on the sidewalks to
watch the strange spectacle.
About 10 o'clock the condition of affairs was reported
to Captain Short, and he sent in a call to headquarters
for reserves. The reserve police from the Lee avenue,
the Bedford avenue, the Bushwick avenue, the Herbert
street and the Greenpoint avenue stations were sent to
the scene of activities. Every trolley car which
succeeded in forcing its way through the throng was
jammed to suffocation by those who wished to reach the
cemetery and find places before the arrival of the
funeral. The Bushwick avenue cars were wholly inadequate
to carry those who boarded them.
The funeral procession reached Brooklyn about 2 o'clock
and after the riot in Kent avenue proceeded on its way
to Union Field Cemetery, where the interment took place
later in the afternoon. Additional details of the riot
in Manhattan were reported by spectators who had
followed the procession to Brooklyn.
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