MACHINEGUNS MOW DOWN MOBS

MACHINEGUNS MOW DOWN MOBS
IN KNOXVILLE

I was unable to find an obvious reference for this fragment. It was unclear to me whether "mobs" refers to gangs or a rowdy crowd, as both seem to fit Dos Passos' context. Some information situating either possibility follows...

1. Gangs ("Mobs"-ters): This headline might be a reference to the escalating violence among bootlegging gangs during the years of the U.S. Prohibition Era (1920-1933). The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is one well-publicized example of a machine-gun multiple-homicide of gang members; that instance occurred in Chicago, however, and I was unable to find reference to such an event in Knoxville.

2. A rowdy crowd: A New York Times article from August 31, 1919 details a race riot in Knoxville, Tennessee, during which the state militia were called in to subdue mob violence. From the article, though, does not sound like the militia fired into the mob.

Source(s)

2. "2 Negroes Killed in Tennessee Riot." The New York Times (August 31, 1919). Retrieved December 1, 2010 from NYTimes.com

File: NYTimes_RiotArticle.pdf

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