Robert Prager
Encyclopedia
Robert Prager was a German coal miner living in Collinsville, Illinois
, who was lynched by a mob on 5 April 1918. Twelve men were tried for his murder but were subsequently acquitted. Prager was killed because of anti-German sentiment
during the first World War
and because he was accused of holding socialist beliefs
.
, Germany, and had emigrated to the United States, in 1905, at the age of 19. A drifter, who had spent a year in an Indiana
reformatory
for theft, he was living in St. Louis when the US declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917.
Prager showed patriotic feelings for his adopted country; he took out his first citizenship papers after the declaration of war and tried to enlist in the US Navy. He also had a St. Louis baker arrested, after he objected to Prager displaying the American flag.
Prager was rejected from the Navy, due to medical reasons. Sometime later, he became a baker in the St. Louis area but was dismissed due to his, "stubborn, uncompromising personality." He applied for membership in the United Mine Workers
union and went to work as a miner in a mine, at nearby Maryville
, but he was denied UMW membership because: not only was he German, but he was also, "unmarried, stubbornly argumentative, given to Socialist doctrines, blind in one eye," and, "looked like a spy to the miners."
Some of the miners who had confronted him in Maryville were drinking in Collinsville that night and decided to go after Prager at his home. They dragged him into the street, stripped him of his shoes and outer clothing, and draped him with an American flag.
Prager was rescued by a policeman, Fred Frost, who put him in the jail. The mayor, John H. Siegel, calmed the crowd for a time, and it was decided to close the town's saloons early. However, the officer who was sent to close the saloons brought the news that "a German spy" was being held in the jail.
A mob gained entrance to the jail and found Prager hiding in the basement. The police stood aside as the mob marched him an area referred to as Mauer Heights. After allowing Prager to write a brief letter to his parents in Germany and pray, he was hanged in front of a crowd of two hundred people at 12:30 am on 5 April.
, did call it, "unlawful and unjustifiable," but argued that a traitor would be dealt with just as harshly in Germany. The mayor dispatched a telegram to a senator in which he argued that Prager's death was due to the failure of Congress to pass effective laws against disloyalty. This was apparently a commonly held point of view, repeated endlessly in the newspapers.
indicted twelve men for murder, and the trial commenced, on 13 May. The judge refused to let the defense try to demonstrate Prager's disloyalty, and the case for the defendants amounted to three claims: no one could say who did what, half the defendants claimed they had not even been there, and the rest claimed they had been bystanders, even Joe Riegel, who had confessed his part to newspaper reporters and a coroner's jury. In its concluding statement, the defense argued that Prager's lynching was justified by, "unwritten law." When the defense was finished, the judge declared a recess. After deliberating for 45 minutes (some accounts say 25), the jury found the defendants innocent. One juryman reportedly shouted, "Well, I guess nobody can say we aren't loyal now".
A New York Times editorial said, "A fouler wrong could hardly be done America," which would be, "Denounced as a nation of odious hypocrites," as a result. However, the Washington Post declared that, "In spite of excesses such as lynching, it is a healthful and wholesome awakening in the interior of the country."
Collinsville, Illinois
Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County, and partially in St. Clair County, both in Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,016. Collinsville is approximately 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri and is considered part of that city's Metro-East area...
, who was lynched by a mob on 5 April 1918. Twelve men were tried for his murder but were subsequently acquitted. Prager was killed because of anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment is defined as an opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, and the German language. Its opposite is Germanophilia.-Russia:...
during the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and because he was accused of holding socialist beliefs
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
.
Early life
Prager was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany, and had emigrated to the United States, in 1905, at the age of 19. A drifter, who had spent a year in an Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
reformatory
Reformatory
Reformatory is a term that has had varied meanings within the penal system, depending on the jurisdiction and the era. It may refer to a youth detention center, or an adult correctional facility. The term is still in popular use for adult facilities throughout the United States, although most...
for theft, he was living in St. Louis when the US declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917.
Prager showed patriotic feelings for his adopted country; he took out his first citizenship papers after the declaration of war and tried to enlist in the US Navy. He also had a St. Louis baker arrested, after he objected to Prager displaying the American flag.
Prager was rejected from the Navy, due to medical reasons. Sometime later, he became a baker in the St. Louis area but was dismissed due to his, "stubborn, uncompromising personality." He applied for membership in the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
union and went to work as a miner in a mine, at nearby Maryville
Maryville, Illinois
Maryville is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,651 at the 2000 census. The population grew to 5,899 in 2004, according to a special census.-Geography:Maryville is located at ....
, but he was denied UMW membership because: not only was he German, but he was also, "unmarried, stubbornly argumentative, given to Socialist doctrines, blind in one eye," and, "looked like a spy to the miners."
Lynching
On 3 April 1918, Prager was confronted by a group of miners and warned away from Maryville. UMW leaders Moses Johnson and James Fornero, who feared for Prager's safety, tried to get the Collinsville police to put him into protective custody, but they declined. The two men instead took Prager back to his home in Collinsville. The next day, Prager returned to Maryville where he prepared a document attacking Fornero. He posted copies of this document around the town and returned to Collinsville that evening.Some of the miners who had confronted him in Maryville were drinking in Collinsville that night and decided to go after Prager at his home. They dragged him into the street, stripped him of his shoes and outer clothing, and draped him with an American flag.
Prager was rescued by a policeman, Fred Frost, who put him in the jail. The mayor, John H. Siegel, calmed the crowd for a time, and it was decided to close the town's saloons early. However, the officer who was sent to close the saloons brought the news that "a German spy" was being held in the jail.
A mob gained entrance to the jail and found Prager hiding in the basement. The police stood aside as the mob marched him an area referred to as Mauer Heights. After allowing Prager to write a brief letter to his parents in Germany and pray, he was hanged in front of a crowd of two hundred people at 12:30 am on 5 April.
Aftermath
The hanging was widely condemned. A local newspaper, the Edwardsville IntelligencerEdwardsville Intelligencer
The Edwardsville Intelligencer is a daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon and nearby rural areas.It was founded in 1862 and was acquired by The Hearst Corporation in 1979....
, did call it, "unlawful and unjustifiable," but argued that a traitor would be dealt with just as harshly in Germany. The mayor dispatched a telegram to a senator in which he argued that Prager's death was due to the failure of Congress to pass effective laws against disloyalty. This was apparently a commonly held point of view, repeated endlessly in the newspapers.
Trial
On 25 April, the county's grand juryGrand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
indicted twelve men for murder, and the trial commenced, on 13 May. The judge refused to let the defense try to demonstrate Prager's disloyalty, and the case for the defendants amounted to three claims: no one could say who did what, half the defendants claimed they had not even been there, and the rest claimed they had been bystanders, even Joe Riegel, who had confessed his part to newspaper reporters and a coroner's jury. In its concluding statement, the defense argued that Prager's lynching was justified by, "unwritten law." When the defense was finished, the judge declared a recess. After deliberating for 45 minutes (some accounts say 25), the jury found the defendants innocent. One juryman reportedly shouted, "Well, I guess nobody can say we aren't loyal now".
Reaction
A week after the trial, an editorial in the newspaper the Collinsville Herald, by editor and publisher J.O. Monroe, said that, "Outside a few persons who may still harbor Germanic inclinations, the whole city is glad that the eleven men indicted for the hanging of Robert P. Prager were acquitted." Monroe noted, "the community is well convinced that he was disloyal. ... The city does not miss him. The lesson of his death has had a wholesome effect on the Germanists of Collinsville and the rest of the nation."A New York Times editorial said, "A fouler wrong could hardly be done America," which would be, "Denounced as a nation of odious hypocrites," as a result. However, the Washington Post declared that, "In spite of excesses such as lynching, it is a healthful and wholesome awakening in the interior of the country."