Philadelphia Inquirer – July 15, 1902
Camden Woman Planted a Pole, Decorated It With Pair Trousers and Flourished a Revolver
Flourishing a revolver and exclaiming, “I’ll kill the first man who touches those pants; this is fair warning to everybody, for I mean what I say!” Mrs. Louisa Traubel, of 807 Broadway, Camden, yesterday held up work on the addition being erected to the Gately and Hurley Company’s department store at Broadway and Spruce streets.
Mrs. Traubel claimed one of the walls was being constructed three inches over the line of the property belonging to her father, George Fields. She consulted City Engineer Farnham, who decided the wall was a fraction of an inch over the line. Then Contractor John Welsh was notified to stop work, but without the desired result.
Mrs. Traubel procured a post, planted it on the line, tacked a pair of trousers on it and, with the above words, threatened the person audacious enough to tear down her improvised banner. Work was at once stopped.
Gentle persuasion was of no avail and then Mayor Nowrey was consulted. He referred the contractor to the Recorder and Police Captain Stanley was detailed to protect the workmen and procure a warrant for the arrest of the woman unless she took down the the post and trousers. But the police found they could do nothing unless there was a breach of the peace.
After sitting in the hot July sun for several hours Mrs. Traubel evacuated her position and the post was cut down, together with the “pants.” Work on the wall was then resumed.
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