{"id":10374,"date":"2016-05-06T12:29:15","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T16:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/?p=10374"},"modified":"2016-05-06T12:29:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T16:29:15","slug":"aftermath-of-the-race-riots-of-1918-the-station-house-at-20th-and-federal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/2016\/05\/aftermath-of-the-race-riots-of-1918-the-station-house-at-20th-and-federal\/","title":{"rendered":"Aftermath of the Race Riots of 1918: The Station House at 20th and Federal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Engine<\/a>
17th District, Police Station and Engine House #24, 20th and Point Breeze Avenue and Federal Streets, November 9, 1896. (PhillyHistory.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a weekend of rioting the likes of which Philadelphia had never seen, families of the deceased planned funerals for two of the men killed in the mayhem. Grieving for their fallen 24-year-old patrolman, the McVey\u2019s would have Requiem Mass sung at St. Anthony\u2019s Catholic Church, 24th and Fitzwater streets. \u201cThousands of persons, hours before the services started, began assembling along the route of the funeral procession,\u201d reported the Inquirer<\/em>. Lieutenant Harry Meyers of the 17th Police District at 20th and Federal Streets would send a 30-man \u201cguard of honor\u201d and largest floral wreath. Six officers from the station stepped up as pallbearers. They\u2019d attempt to console McVey\u2019s bereft mother, who responded: \u201cI have but one wish\u2026to live long enough to see my poor boy\u2019s death avenged. He didn\u2019t deserve to meet with such an end, to be killed by the bullet of a negro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though he was on vacation, one of those pallbearers-to-be, patrolman John Schneider, reported for duty that Monday, the day after the death of Thomas McVey and two days before his funeral. The streets of South Philadelphia still seethed with a toxic mix of mob violence and martial rule, which would prove nearly fatal for African American men\u2014even those going about their business.<\/p>\n

That morning, Preston H. Lewis visited his brother, hoping \u201cto find a place to move because the family with whom he lived, at 2739 Titan Street, was moving on account of the riot,\u201d reported the Inquirer<\/em>. \u201cHe was met on the streets by Officers Ramsay and Schneider\u201d who stopped and frisked Lewis and \u201cfinding a small pocket knife, beat him about the head inflicting about 20 wounds.\u201d In fact, Ramsay and Schneider beat Lewis \u201cuntil he was semiconscious\u201d before sending him to the Polyclinic Hospital at 18th and Lombard Streets. There, with his face and head \u201ca mass of bruises\u201d Lewis \u201cwas laid on a cot to await his turn to have his wounds dressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Schneider wasn\u2019t done.\u00a0He \u201cwalked into the hospital\u2026went to the Accident Ward, and without a word of warning, knocked down Miss Applegate, one of the nurses in attendance\u201d and began to beat Lewis with his fists and then with his black jack. “Lewis was knocked unconscious\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

William Watson, an African-American officer from another district \u201cwho was on guard in the hospital drew his gun and threatened to shoot Schneider before he would stop beating Lewis\u201d but \u201cseveral white officers present wrenched the gun from his hand\u2026\u201d\u00a0The head nurse telephoned the police of the 19th Police District\u2014not Schneider\u2019s own stationhouse\u2014for assistance. Two officers arrived, resident physician William M. Cooperage would later testify: \u201cI tried to stop [Schneider] but could not, and it took the efforts of three other policemen to drag him from the helpless victim.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schneider would later be charged and tried, but that<\/em> day, right after the incident at the Polyclinic Hospital, Schneider went back to work, rejoining his partner, Robert Ramsey, at the 17th District Station house.\u00a0From 20th and Federal, Schneider and Ramsey would return to the streets,\u00a0looking for trouble.<\/p>\n

[Sources: “Pays Fine Tribute to Victim of Riot – Rev. Francis A. Brady Praises Policeman McVay for Dying at Duty,”\u00a0The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, August 2, 1918; “White Policeman Clubs a Race Riot Victim on Hospital Cot,\u201d The Philadelphia Tribune<\/em>, August 10, 1918; “Policeman Tried for Brutal Action,” The Philadelphia Inquirer,<\/em> August 30, 1918; G. Grant Williams, “Cop Schneider on Trial,” The Philadelphia Tribune<\/em>, September 7, 1918; \u201cEcho of Race Riot \u2013 Policeman Schneider to Be Tried for Deadly Assault,\u201d The Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em>, September 25, 1918.]<\/span><\/p>\n

More posts on the South Philadelphia Riot of 1918 here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>. Next time: Schneider and Ramsey encounter Riley Bullock.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a weekend of rioting the likes of which Philadelphia had never seen, families of the deceased planned funerals for two of the men killed in the mayhem. Grieving for their fallen 24-year-old patrolman, the McVey\u2019s would have Requiem Mass sung at St. Anthony\u2019s Catholic Church, 24th and Fitzwater streets. \u201cThousands of persons, hours before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10374\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}