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Chapter 5. The Aftermath
- Southern Illinois University Press
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CHAPTER 5 The Aftermath ABOUT two weeks after the riot, Springfield's citizens received the startling news that Mabel Hallam, the white woman whose alleged rape had sparked the violence, had dropped all charges against George Richardson. She swore out an affidavit exonerating him, then claimed that another black man named Ralph Burton had raped her. Armed with this new evidence and a modified description of her assailant, Springfield's authorities searched the city and put police departments elsewhere on the alert. Meanwhile, rumors began to circulate that Mrs. Hallam had never been assaulted and that she had invented the story to conceal some wrongdoing. These rumors were further fueled by the news that medical examinations had revealed that she had contracted a venereal disease but that Richardson was perfectly healthy. Some speculated that perjury charges against Hallam might be forthcoming. After several days of searching, the police could find no trace of anyone fitting the new black suspect's description. The Hallams abruptly and without explanation announced that they would no longer talk to the press. Not publicized was Mrs. Hallam's admission to a special grand jury in early September that she had not been attacked by a black man at all. Word got out nonetheless, and, several months later, the editor of the Forum mentioned her confession in an article about the riot he wrote for an out-of-town magazine. The man she saw the night of her alleged rape, the editor said, was "her white sweetheart ," and, "seeking to escape blame and shame and outcast," Mrs. Hallam had invented the story of a black rapist. She admitted to the grand jury that she had not been raped, but under questioning re- The Aftermath 159 fused to reveal her paramour's identity. I Commenting on the silence of the city's white press in the face of Mrs. Hallam's testimony before the grand jury, the Forum's editor fumed, "When the papers found out all they tucked their tails and never once editorially condemned the woman. 0 but how these papers had lauded her in Headlines. 'Negro assaults high-tone Lady in a most Prominent Neighborhood' exclaimed the Register in a two column, front page article.,,2 After the events of August and September 1908, life in Springfield probably became rather uncomfortable for the Hallams. Within several months, Mrs. Hallam, her husband, and her in-laws left the city for good. Despite their troubles, Mabel and William Hallam apparently did not divorce. In 19lO they lived together in Chicago with William's parents, and Mabel gave birth to their first child.3 As for George Richardson, shortly after Mrs. Hallam dropped the charges against him, he was released from the jail in Bloomington where he and Joe James had been awaiting their trials. Richardson returned to a peaceful life in Springfield.4 As the Hallam-Richardson case reached its decisive resolution, the upcoming trials of Joe James and the white rioters claimed increasing public attention in the capital. During the first week of September the special grand jury completed its riot investigation and, relying heavily on police and military testimony, returned a total of lO7 indictments against nearly eighty people. Most of those indicted were white rioters, but, much to the embarrassment of the city authorities , four patrolmen faced charges of "failure to suppress riot." The grand jury also published a special report roundly condemning the conduct of some of the city policemen who had "brought a blush of shame to every law abiding citizen of the city." Several officers, they said, "not only failed to use a club, handle a pistol, or raise a voice against the mob, but some of them [were] shown to have assisted by act and word in doing the work that has brought destruction ." The grand jury suggested a thorough investigation of the police department, but the authorities seem to have ignored their recommendation.5 The department's inability to suppress the riot and its subsequent criticism by the grand jury and by some white newspapers prompted it to attempt to salvage its reputation. For a few weeks city police and detectives conducted a series of well-publicized raids in the Levee and vice district, designed to provide a convincing display of activity to satisfy the press, prominent citizens, and the business community, who were clamoring for law and order. The raids also reflected the belief among influential whites that the riot was [44.201.59.20] Project MUSE...