Reading Eagle (October 1, 1940)
Detroit, Oct. 1 (AP) –
A girl autograph hunter, struck on the head by a metal wastebasket as she waited outside a downtown hotel to see Wendell L. Willkie last night, was reported in serious condition with a skull fracture today.
The basket was one of several missiles which showered down on the crowd following the Republican presidential nominee shortly after he had entered the Book-Cadillac Hotel.
The girl was identified as Betty Wilson, 19. A dozen stitches were required to close a scalp laceration.
Tracing the source of the missiles, police arrested a woman who gave her name as Miss Doris La Rue, 31, and said she was an employee of the Federal Housing Administration.
Paul Wencel, chief of detectives, quoted Miss La Rue as saying she had hurled the five-pound metal basket and other objects from her 18th floor room “in a spirit of fun.” She was held on a disorderly conduct charge pending the outcome of Miss Wilson’s injuries.
Police said a bottle, a wooden chair, a heavy phone book and a bedspread also had been hurled from the window. No one else in the crowd of about 1,000 was injured.
More updates here…