Eureka Reporter | 1905-04-28 | Page 2 | Mass Meeting Ends in Tragedy

MASS MEETING ENDS IN TRAGEDY hempstead texas congressman john M pickney and three other men were killed at a mass meeting here monday night called for the pur gosp of petitioning the governor to send rangers here to enforce the lo 10 cal option law J M brown a leading lawyer and prominent anti prohibitionist began the shooting which became general in an instant the dead are J N brown con gressman john M pickney tom pinckney brother of the congress man john mills a leading zionist when the trouble began tompkins private secretary to congressman pickney was making a speech to a motion captain brown had the floor he used language which was objected to and at the same time grasped tompkins by the coat congressman Congress mar ney sprang forward and the shooting began no one appearing to know who fired the first shot though it is said that a kinsman of brown fired and that congressman pit cl ney was the first to fall A number of men appeared to be engaged in the shooting and something like shots were fired brown was a lawyer who had been bract dug here for twenty years