By Larry Newman
Daily News Managing Editor
Today’s racial outbreak needn’t have happened.
In every city that has witnessed wanton violence and looting, this has been said. Here it happens to be true.
By a matter of minutes a Negro delegation that had won several demands from top city officials missed holding back the rampage.
The delegation — including C.J. McLin Jr., the Rev. Robert Lowe and Eugene Clover — had met early this morning with City Manager Herbert W. Starick and Police Chief Lawrence Caylor.
They had gone into the heart of Dayton while W. Sumter McIntosh held an angry mob in the second floor headquarters of the Ohio Freedom Movement.
“The people weren’t that much out of control,” said McLin.
McLin had gone to the meeting, he said, with the understanding that McIntosh would hold the Negroes and wait to see if their demands would be met.
The Negroes wanted two white policemen — known on the West Side as Batman and Robin — removed from the West Dayton beat.
“They’re rotten,” said one West Side resident. “They think they own the West Side.”
Starick and Caylor agreed to transfer them. No problem there.
The Negro delegation requested that several Negroes picked up in the angry wake of this morning’s wanton shooting be released.
No problem there.
AS McLIN AND the delegation returned to McIntosh’s offices, the mob cut loose. Indiscriminant looting started.
It wasn’t hard. Dayton police, alert to the mood of the mob, pulled back and left a block open along Third St.
“This was agitated while we were out,” Mr. Lowe said. “They said they’d wait until we came out … but they didn’t.”
“IT WOULD HAVE been a couple more minutes and we could have told them we got what we wanted.”
McLin, dapper in a neat dark suit, was obviously shaken as he looked at the damage after the rampage.
“It was hard for me to believe,” he said, shaking his head. He had arrived in time to see the first stores being smashed open.
As clusters of Negroes watched on the periphery, young Negro kids smashed windows, then grabbed clothes, lamps, any kind of merchandise.
PANTORIUM CLEANERS, next door to McIntosh’s headquarters, was cleaned out.
Next door Harvey’s Fashions was cleaned out in like manner. Across the street the display windows at the Famous Clothing store were shattered and clothing stolen. Several mannequins lay on the sidewalk in front.
BURGLAR ALARMS rang steadily as the looting went on. It made no difference. No one was going to answer them anyway.
TWO TIMES a police paddy wagon passed in front. Each time there was a brief interruption. Then the looting continued.
Shortly before 10:30 the riot act was read by police bull horn. And only then did officers move in from both ends of Third St., shotguns at the ready.
McIntosh appeared, with shirt sleeves rolled up, shirt open at the neck.
HE WAS outraged, he said, with the city.
“This is the city’s fault,” he charged. You can blame the mayor and the chief of police.”
McIntosh disclaimed any responsibility for the outbreak. “How can one man be responsible?” he asked.
MAYOR DAVE HALL was on the scene, and he confronted McIntosh after reading a statement over the police radio calling for assistance from the governor.
“It’s the mayor’s fault,” McIntosh charged again.
Hall snapped back: “We did what you asked. We did all we could.”
“THE CHIEF REFUSED to come down here,” McIntosh declared.
“We didn’t refuse,” Hall shot back.
McIntosh waved his hands expansively. “This is one of those unfortunate things,” he said.
BUT HE DECLARED that a 8 p.m. meeting he had called earlier in the day was still on.
Maj. H.J. Book was on the scene as Dayton police mounted bayonets on their weapons.
When McIntosh asked, “How can I control them,” Book declared:
“GENTLEMEN, THE chief of police will control them.”
Book looked straight at McIntosh and said: “I ask you to help. If you can help to control this, fine.”
A little way away, McLin was conferring with Mr. Lowe and others.
HE WAS AWARE that the pent-up frustrations of the Negro will be hard to control.
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