Detroiters made out fairly well in “The Battle of Chicago” with a minimum of casualties and arrests. At this writing the only known arrests were Sue Wender, of People Against Racism, Dan Hodak and an unidentified member of Youth for Peace Freedom and Justice. All were released on bond.
Hard hit, though, was people’s property. Frank Joyce, National Director of PAR, returned to his car to find it had been completely demolished by flames. It was parked half a block from a pig station and had visible quantities of peace literature in the back seat.
Pat Quinlan, a Detroit teacher, and a friend, Bill Boucher, a WSU law student, had ridden to Chicago on their motorcycles. Quinlan described the scene in the Detroit News: “We were just walking back to our motorcycles when a squad car rolled up and two cops jumped out and started running at us waving their clubs. All we could do was run.
“They slashed the tires and seats, smashed the headlights and tachometers and then turned our bikes upside down. Every once in a while, they’d look over at us and start laughing. It was incredible.”
The Fifth Estate would like to publish accounts of individuals’ experiences in Chicago. If you have something to report send it in, preferably typewritten and double spaced.
