A Violent Attack at the Altar
A clergyman is assaulted by an intruder while officiating mass, leading to a swift local trial.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Rev. Father Meyer, pastor of the St. Boniface German Catholic Church, was the victim of an outrageous assault while officiating at the children’s mass. While he was kneeling at the altar with his head bowed, a strange man holding a stone in his hand ran rapidly toward him and felled him to the ground with a blow of the stone. Two of the altar boys were also wounded in the head from which they bled freely. The affair created a profound sensation in the church and almost caused a panic. The intruder was captured and taken to the city jail. Upon arriving at the station, he gave the name of J. L. Manning. He is thought to be suffering from a brain malady. Judge De Kenna gave Manning a hearing, and in two hours after he had committed the act he was on his way to the state asylum, where he will have to remain for six months, not being able to pay a fine of $100 and costs imposed upon him by the magistrate.
“The affair created a profound sensation in the church and almost caused a panic.”
Assaults on clergy or within houses of worship remain potent triggers for civic shock. This incident, while localized, reflects the 19th-century reliance on swift, summary adjudication for 'madness' as an alternative to long-term criminal prosecution.
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