Four Arrested at Norwood Under Sunday Sport Law
Much Advertised BasketBall Event by Labor Group Broken Up
Special Dispatch to the Globe
Two hundred spectators were thrown into a near-panic and four men were arrested for violation of the Sunday sports law here this afternoon when police raided Finnish Hall, where a basketball game between Norwood and Brooklyn teams was scheduled to take place.
The hall is only a short distance from the home of Gov Allen. The game was to be played in defiance of the police and town officials, who had rescinded a permit for the game when they learned that it was to be indoors, contrary to the Sunday sports law. Backers of the game insisted that it would be played and distributed circulars over Norwood calling for help for the teams and clubs, which represent the Labor Sports Union of America, which Is a section of the Red Sports International.
The teams were the Yrltys A. C. of Norwood and the Taytee A. C. of Brooklyn.
Man Makes Speech
The circular said that the game would be played at 2 o'clock this afternoon and a police squad under Chief Sullivan arrived just before that time, causing 200 spectators to make a mad rush for exits. As the four men, who were arrested, were loaded into the patrol wagon, a man mounted an automobile and made a speech in which he declared that the game would be played tomorrow night at 6 o'clock. He was not molested by the police.
The men arrested are :
Walter Burke of 692 East st, New York city, secretary of the Labor Sports Union of America, who is charged with being a person in control of a basketball game in violation of the Sunday sports law;
Allan Heckler, 11 Savin av, Norwood, charged with taking part in an illegal basketball game;
Toivo Lybeck of 54 Belmont st, Worcester, and
Arnold Maki, 51 Catherine st, Worcester, both charged with being present where an illegal game was in progress.
Crowd Scrambles to Exits
Finnish Hall is located at 37 Chapel St and was packed to capacity with a crowd of 200 men, women and children when the police arrived. The players were warming up for the game when Chief Sullivan entered accompanied by patrolmen Harry Snow, Peter Curran, Patrick Coyne, Nicholas Curran, William Balfour, Mark Folan, Thomas White, and Frank Mullane.
Chief Sullivan and his men sought to Interview the promoters of the game and did not bother the crowd, which began to pile out every available exit. A huge crowd gathered outside the hall to watch proceedings and was rewarded by the appearance of the police squad with four men in custody. The basketball game had been widely advertised in foreign-language newspapers and by circulars. People had come from as far as Worcester and Fall River to witness the contest.
It was last night that trouble began to brew because hundreds of circulars were passed out in Norwood to theatre and dance patrons informing them that the basketball game would be played at Finnish Hall on Sunday afternoon.
Circulars Attack Law
The circular declared "Down with the Sunday Sports Law" and urged a protest against the actions of the police, the bosses tools, calling upon the workers to form sports clubs In their shops. Concerning the Sunday Sports Law, the circular said that the Sunday Sports Law is a class law made to serve the interests of the bosses and the interests of professional sports. It further declared that the bosses promote sports in order to divert the young workers from fighting against the miserable conditions in the factories, to prepare them for imperialist wars and to keep other workers from organizing into their class organizations.
Mr Burke, one of the arrested men who is secretary of the union, told Chief Sullivan that he had instructions to go through with the game and make a test case out of the Sunday Sports Law.
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