"When Greek Meets Greek - Community Election Day" article - Chicago Daily Tribune, December 14, 1908

Published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, December 14, 1908

WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK

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Then - Seventeen Chicago Police

Were Needed Yesterday.

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COMMUNITY ELECTION DAY.

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Court Tried to Prevent Trouble,

but Rows Were Frequent.

Seventeen police were required to quell riots at the biennial election of the Association of the Greek Community of Chicago held in the Masonic temple yesterday.  Several heads were badly bruised in different phases of the contest and two arrests were made.

Only the prompt action of the detail of police under Sergeants McMahon and Matchett prevented serious trouble as the excited Hellenes argued, fought, and rushed to get into room 901 on the ninth floor, where Louise Hutt, chief clerk of the Circuit court, acted as judge of the election under orders from Judge Lockwood Honore.

One Row a Minute.

In the lodgeroom where Mr. Hutt tried to quiet the 2,500 excited voters and Gilbert B. Tearney, also of the Circuit Clerk's office, showed them how to mark their ballots.  Rows occurred almost every minute.  Challengers, candidates, voters, and police all talking at once delayed matters so that sometimes only ten or fifteen votes would be cast in an hour.

The community controls all Greek church and other Greek charitable institutions in Chicago.  For the last four years one faction has had control of the community affairs, and the fight of an opposing party to oust them prompted all the trouble yesterday.  Dr. A. J. Sanichias headed the regular faction and Dr. Christ Petrulas the "rebels."

After midnight it was found the "rebels" had won.  The count showed that Dr. Christ Petrulas and his entire ticket received 488 of the votes cast against 458 for Dr. A. J. Sanchas (sp?) and the rest of the regular ticket.

Yesterday's election in the Masonic temple was held under the immediate direction of the Circuit court. The court's action came about through a petition of the regular faction of the community, who sought an injunction asking that the "rebels" be kept from holding an election of their own.

Court Takes Charge.

The court denied the injunction, but ordered that Chief Clerk Hutt and his assistant conduct the election.

The troubles of the Greek community are said to center around the Rev. K. Georgiadis, now at the head of a Greek church at 1927 State street and until four years ago the pastor of the regular church.

This pastor was ousted, it is said, under charges of misconduct, and later the Holy synod at Athens ordered that he confine himself in a monastery located in the center of Greece as punishment.  This he has refused to do, the regulars say.