There was general indignation, and so intense became the feeling against the saloon keeper that threats of lynching him were made. Meyer was in the saloon at 7 o'clock, but when he saw the temper of the mob he wisely determined to disappear. He left the place by the back door and, scaling the fence unobserved, fled to Newtown for shelter and assistance. A woman who was in the saloon and who claims to be a boarder in the house fled too. She ran to a liquor store, kept by Constable Ernest Brechter, at the junction of Cypress avenue and the Manhattan Beach railway. The woman pleaded with Brechter for assistance, and said that a mob was looting Mr. Meyer's place.

As the saloon keeper fled the rioters began the attack. It started when a small boy threw a stone through the closed door. The crash of glass seemed to precipitate a general descent on the barroom. It was then about 7:30 o'clock and there was a mob of nearly three thousand persons in front of the door. The first stone thrown was followed by a shower of bricks and cobbles, with which the rioters had armed themselves. Then there was a rush for the barroom, the locked doors were forced as if they were sheets of cardboard and the front rank of the rioters were swept into the saloon by the pressure from behind. The bar room was filled in less than a minute and the mob took complete possession.

Nearly every window on the lower floor of the house was broken, the three heavy plate glass mirrors of the mahogany sideboard behind the bar were shattered, the beautifully turned columns of mahogany supporting the sideboard canopy were twisted and broken, the partition which formed a small private drinking room was wrecked and bottles, glasses and pictures were wrecked. There was a rush for the store room and the rioters carried away two barrels of whisky, made free with several kegs of beer, smashed several bottles of champagne, smoked Mr. Meyers' cigars and appropriated everything but several bottles of claret, which was not to the liking of throng, apparently.

The work of destruction was complete in less than fifteen minutes. There were excited searches for Meyer, who had wisely escaped, and had he been caught the men were in a mood to hang him. Constables Boechter and George Hodke of Middle Village finally presented an appearance, backed by six deputies, and began to drive the mob out of the place. The rioters made a sullen resistance for a while, and the constables were forced to draw their revolvers. They fired several shots in the air and their intention in doing so, to frighten the mob, was successful.

The crowd took the alarm and dispersed in the direction of the city line. There the rioters were met by a section of men from the Twentieth precinct, and the work of dispersion was completed. A report that one or two of the rioters had been shot was wholly without foundation. There were no injuries inflicted by the officers. The constables took possession of the saloon and refused to admit anybody except the proprietor to the place. Meyer returned this morning, but there was no demonstration against him. He was very much excited, very nervous and he almost wept when he saw the scene of desolation. Later in the day he had an interview with District Attorney Fleming of Queens county about the matter. He proposes to sue the authorities of Queens county for damages. Meyer denies that he refused shelter to the injured children. He supplemented the statement he made to an Eagle reporter yesterday by this specific denial today:

"The World this morning stated that I refused to give shelter to the people injured in the fire on Cooper street yesterday morning." said Mr. Meyer, "and through the wild talk of their representatives, who acted like anarchists, caused a mob to attack my place last night and utterly wreck it. The paper stated that I refused to give shelter to the injured, although my
place was open, but this is not true. I sleep alone in the rear of my saloon, and when the fire broke out was the only person in the building. Knowing that the Queens county fire department could do little or nothing, I ran half a mile to Ridgewood and woke up ex-Coroner Homeyer, who has a telephone. I asked him to communicate with the Brooklyn department and then went to another man's house and got him to run for the local engines. When I returned to my saloon it was considerably after 4 o'clock and I opened up, but no one applied for shelter. It may have been that people came when I was away, and if I had thought of it I would have left someone in my place, but under the circumstances you can understand that I was too flurried to think.
All day yesterday I was in my place and had no idea that my neighbors were incensed against me. In the afternoon these reporters arrived and they talked so much to the people that they were convinced I had not acted right, and a mob wrecked the place, forcing me to get out. I had a nice business and a good deal of property, but all this is gone, simply because a newspaper wanted a sensation."