Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 June 1910 — RIOT AT CEDAR LAKE. [ARTICLE]

RIOT AT CEDAR LAKE.

Season Opened at Resort Sunday With Broken Heads and Arrests. Crown Poit, Ind., ’June 13. — Cedar Lake’s first! beautiful summer day was turned into a sensational and shameless riot because of the picnic crowd which came out from Chicago to hold revelry at Monon Park. An officer was badly hurt and several rioters were injured. Robert Mercer head of the park’s special police was so badly cut about the head that he had to be brought to Crown Point tp have his wounds dressed. Two firrests were made by the sheriff’s deputies and the men arrested jailed in Crown Point. The affair took place where so many of its predecessors have occurred at Monon Park, the Monon railway’s pretty park on the west side of the lake where seven coach loads of pipnickers came out from Chicago to spend the day. The picnic, was given from Chicago. A drunken brawl started the melee. Two men engaged in a fight and Mercer sought to bring an end to the hostilities. Then a wholesale battle started in which the unfortunate officer was maltreated, a swarm of picnickers hastened to the rescue of the men Mercer sought to arrest. Mercer was stripped of his gun, club and star. Several men took his part and the conflict became general. Mercer was surrounded and badly beaten. His head was split open with a beer bottle and a number of the rioters were beaten up pretty badly. A nunjjxr of officers of the law then busy and Sheriff Grant’s deputies made several arrests. Mercer was taken to Crown Point where Dr. W. F. Houk was called up to dress his wounds. The arrested rioters were jailed *and will have a hearing to-morrow before Judge 'Nicholson.