Connecticut western news., 1875-06-11
THE HOLYOKE CALAMITY.
Its Warning--Will this Last Appeal be 4. ..n4F Heededs rM:F-t

Its warning--will this Last Appeal be 1a p.a4f Heededs EU:Ft
 The New York Herald says: News ofCanotherf terrible church accident, in- 'volving the1oss of over sixty lives, comes to us by, telegraph. Holyoke, a quiet New England town, witnessed scene of terror which has no parallel in modern times save in the horrors which attended the burning of the church at Santiago in Chili some years ago. During the festi- val of Corpus Christi Catholics are in the habit of decorating and Illuminating their churches, and from this custom the disaster directly sprung. It is some what curious that people who undertake, to guide, if not to rule the world, should constantly prove so little skillflI in man aging the very simple matters which. naturally fall within their sphere of ac-. tion: It is remarkable that while great CT numbers of people assemble in theaters and other public places, much more exposed from their nature to de- struction by fire than are churches, loss of life by similar accidents is compara- lively rare. The cause is motif to seek. In the theater there is method and sys- tenn, with constant provision for just such cases of accident. As 8 result panic does not spread SD rapidly among the people, and even should the unreason- ing. crowd become stampeded the fa- clity of egress permits escape without involving those terrible scenes which al most invariably accompany accidents in churches. The church at Holyoke be- longed to 8 congregation of French Catholics. It was a wooden structure and therefore peculiarly liable to acci- dents Of the nature which befe]l it. It does not, however, appear that the l. sIghtest pre- cautionss were taken to guard against the occurrence of fire, nor were any means at hand-to combat it should it break out. With characteristic care lessness the wooden church, crowded with worshipers, was illuminated, and | this directly led to the awful sacrifice
 which followed.
 The fire first appeared in the altar
 decorations, but it spread, with such
 alarming rapidity that panic Seized on
 the people. who rushed wildly to the
 doors. The natural result followed. All
 means of egress became blocked in a
 moment, and worshipers of the moment
 before trampled each other to death in ! their efforts to escape from the flames.
 It IS useless to attempt to picture the
 soul appalling horror of suchsa scene; only those who have lived sthrough5 it can adeq equately know it's terr5rs. The
 fierce desire of life stifing all sense of
 remorse and fear of God from the hearts ,, of those who an instant before knelt humblY at the foot of His throne. asking I forgiveness and grace to amend their < lives, is, ,a picture fewwould like to con-
 template; still fewer would care to ac- -cept before man or the Create rctAe! re
 spohsibilityi of exposing their fellow ] creatures, to so; dreadful an erdeal.R Yet the frequent oceAtrene nee'of. similar scenes seems to have iaoi effect om the minds oof clergymen, They will have theirtapers and their illuminations, notwitAstand- ing the terrible lessons preached by ire quent and appalling catastrophes of this