Chicago Tragedy

LH&RB Newsletter of the Legal History & Rare Books SIS of the American Association of Law Libraries Volume 22 Number 2 Summer 2016 Hog Butcher for the World, Chicago Tragedy: A Guide Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, to Some of the Famous Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; and Infamous Law-Related Stormy, husky, brawling, Sites of Chicago City of the Big Shoulders… Mark W. Podvia —Carl Sandburg, Chicago The City of Chicago has had its more than its share of murder, mayhem and disaster. All of these happenings attracted national attention; a few resulted in regulations that have improved health and safety. This is a listing of some of the most well-known Chicago tragedies. You might want to visit some or all of these places during your time in Chicago. Several of these are located within walking distance of the AALL Annual Meeting. Some others can be reached via public transportation. Be aware that not all of these locations are open to the public. Federal Regulations Gone Awry: The Sinking of the SS Eastland Chicago Riverwalk between LaSalle and Clark Streets The SS Eastland, a popular Chicago-based excursion boat, was launched in 1902. Known for its speed, the vessel had a design flaw that made it top-heavy. The problem was worsened following the passage of the Federal Seamen's Act in 1915. The act, adopted is response to the RMS Titanic disaster, required the retrofitting of a complete set of lifeboats on the Eastland. The additional weight made the unstable ship even more dangerous. On the morning of July 24, 1915, the ship was loaded to capacity for a company picnic. While the ship was still tied to the dock, many of the passengers moved to the river side of the vessel, causing the unstable Eastland to roll onto its port side. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in the disaster. Many of those who died were children. It was the worst loss of life ever in a Great Lakes’ shipwreck. Ghosts of the victims were said to have haunted the nearby Harpo Studios during the filming of the Oprah Winfrey Show. The Eastland was later raised and sold to the United States Navy. Rebuilt and renamed the USS Wilmette, she served as a gunboat on the Great Lakes until after the Second World War. President Franklin Roosevelt spent time sailing aboard the ship in 1943. The Haymarket Incident 175 N. Desplaines Street The Haymarket Incident, also called the Haymarket Massacre or the Haymarket Riot, occurred on May 4, 1886. It began as a peaceful rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day. Someone—it has never been determined who—threw a bomb at police as they acted to disperse the crowd. Seven police officers and four of those attending the rally were killed by the blast and the gunfire that followed. Many others were wounded. Eight men were tried for conspiracy following the incident. Despite the lack of evidence as to who had thrown the bomb, all were found guilty with seven of the men being sentenced to death. Four were executed, a fifth man committed suicide. The remaining three were later pardoned by incoming governor John Peter Altgeld, a critic of the trial. The selection of May Day as International Worker’s Day is said to have been as a result of the Haymarket Incident. A public sculpture by Mary Brogger marks the location where the incident occurred. In addition, the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument can be found at the nearby Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park. Transportation Woes: The Pullman Strike Pullman National Monument, Cottage Grove and 112th Street The Pullman Palace Car Company, builder and operator of the Pullman sleeping cars, constructed a company town in Chicago to house its workers. The community and adjoining factory were located between Lake Calumet and the Illinois Central rail line south of Chicago. A model town, the homes included indoor plumbing, unusual for the day. However, it was a paternalistic community; company president George Pullman prohibited town meetings and cleanliness inspectors regularly entered homes. A business slowdown in 1893 lead to decreases in wages without a corresponding reduction in rents, leaving workers on starvation pay. A strike broke out at the Pullman factories on May 11, 1894. The company refused to make any concessions to the American Railway Union (ARU), so the union took the strike to a national level, boycotting of the handling of Pullman cars by all ARU workers. The boycott crippled rail traffic. The delivery of US mail was disrupted by the strike, causing the Federal government to intervene. Citing the Sherman Anti-Trust Law of 1890, the government obtained an injunction against the union and sent thousands of US Army troops to Chicago. Fighting between the military and workers at rail yards in the Chicago area killed dozens and left many more wounded. ARU leader Eugene Debs, along with other union leaders, were arrested, weakening the ARU and the strike. The strike officially ended on July 12, 1894. George Pullman died in 1897. Afraid that his body would be stolen, his lead-lined casket was buried in an eight-foot deep concrete pit and covered with asphalt, steel rails and concrete. The grave is at Graceland Cemetery, located at Clark Street and Irving Park Road in the Uptown area of Chicago. A Low Point for Sports Fans: The 1919 Chicago Black Sox 333 West 35th Street Comiskey Park was the home of the Chicago White Sox from 1910 through 1990. More than 6000 regular-season Major League baseball games and four World Series were played at Comiskey Park. The old stadium was demolished in 1991; the White Sox now play at U.S. Cellular Field, built next to where the Comiskey Park stood. Chicago lost the infamous 1919 “Black Sox” World Series to the Cincinnati Reds five games to three in a nine-game series. The Sox lost three of the four games that were played at Comiskey Park. Several players later admitted that they took money to throw the series. Comiskey Park's home plate is marked by a marble plaque on the sidewalk next to U.S. Cellular Field. Most of the old stadium is now a parking lot; the old ballpark’s foul lines are painted on the lot. The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893: The White City Jackson Park, South Lake Shore Drive The Chicago World’s Fair, officially known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, was held in Chicago to mark the 400th Anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the Americas. The Fair attracted thousands of visitors from around the World to Chicago. The Fair’s white buildings earned it the nickname “The White City” and served as the inspiration for the City Beautiful Movement. The fair did have a dark side. H.H. Holmes murdered as many as 200 people, primarily young blonde women, at his World’s Fair Hotel. Arrested, tried and found guilty, he was hung on May 7, 1896. The hanging was botched and he died a slow death from suffocation. His body reportedly twitched for almost 20 minutes before he was pronounced dead. The Palace of Fine Arts, today the Museum of Science and Industry, and the World's Congress Building, today the Art Institute of Chicago, are the only major building that survive from the Chicago World's Fair. A ticket booth from the Fair now stands in the garden of Frank Lloyd Wright’s DeCaro House, 313 N. Forest Avenue. Long after the Fair, the Jackson Park lagoon became the final resting place of famed attorney Clarence Darrow, who died in Chicago in 1938. His ashes were scattered in lagoon from what is now the Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge, located east of 60th Street. Meat Inspection: The Chicago Stockyards Exchange Avenue at Peoria Street In 1906, muckraker Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in which he described the unsafe working conditions and unsanitary practices in the American meatpacking industry. The book shocked the American public and lead to the adoption of the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The Union Stock Yards, where animals were brought into the city for processing, closed on June 30, 1971. Few remnants of Chicago’s meat-packing industry survive. However, the Union Stock Yard Gate has been preserved. The gate was designed by John Wellborn Root around 1875. Chicago Crime: Site of the St Valentine's Day Massacre 2122 North Clark Street On February 14, 1929, seven men—six members of the Bugs Moran gang and one bystander— were gunned down by members of the Al Capone gang. The victims were shot against a brick wall of the SMG Cartage Company Garage. The Garage was demolished in 1967. What remains of the wall is now on display at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. The site of the Massacre is now owned by a nearby nursing home. A line of trees can be seen on the property; the center tree marks where the wall once stood. More Chicago Crime: Al Capone’s Favorite Bar Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 North Broadway Avenue What is now the Green Mill Jazz Club, located in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, was a speakeasy during Prohibition. The club was then operated by members of the mob, including the man suspected of being the primary gunman in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn. When he visited the bar Al Capone would sit in the booth across from the side door on Lawrence Street where he had a clear view of all the entrances.

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