Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-02-16
UNHAPPY HEBREWS.
Origin and Progress of the Riots at
Warsaw.

A Moscow paper, the Russ, claims
that the following is an accurate &C
count of the origin of the disturbances
at Warsaw: On one of the best and
most frequented thoroughfares of
Warsaw, called the Cracow suburb, is
situated the Roman Catholic church of
the Holy Cross. Several thou
sand worshippers of all classes
and conditions had assembled
there to attend high mass which was
celebrated at noon on Christmas day.
The church and the porch were over
crowded. In the middle of the service
a gentleman standing in the back part
of the church, who subsequently gave
his name as Vassylevsky. was seen
hurriedly pushing his way to the door
and calling for water. II seems that
lady who came to church with that
gentleman suddenly tainted from the
overpowering heat, and he was anxious
to procure some water for her; but the
crowd catching the word "water," way
alarmed, imagining that a fire had
broken out, and there was a general
rush for the doors. Ladies with long,
fashionable dresses, impeded still more
the way; several persons stumbled
over them and fell, while others,
pushed by the oncoming crowd, fell
over them again, or were compelled to
tread over them in their rush for life,
and the result was that twenty-nine
persons were killed-amOng others
the Countess Alexandrovitch - and
twenty-three persons severely injured,
besides a great many others, slightly
hurt, who managed to return to their
homes. About forty doctors-Russians
and Poles-hurried to the assistance of
the bruised people. Meanwhile the
tiremen arrived, as the report was
spread abroad that there was fire in
the church, and they assisted,
together with the police, in carrying
the corpses and the wounded people.
The services of both the police and fire.
men were very effective, and many of
them suffered severe injuries in assisting
othtr people. All that, however. oc-
CURED in the back part and on the
porch of the church, which is of such
large dimensions that the disturbances
were not even noticed in the fore
ranges, and the mass was finished in
the usual way. In the afternoon the
widest rumors spread about town, and
1t was generally reported that a thief
Jew-being caught in the very act of
stealing the watch of gentleman in
church, maliciously raised the cry of
'ire" in order to effect his escape amid
the general tumult. Others again as
serted that there was a whole gang of
robbers at tchurch-Jews disguised as
females - who worked away during
mass, and, one of them being caught,
the others raised the cry of fire and
escaped. After 4 p. m. still fresh re.
ports circulated concerning the same
trick being enacted by the Jews as
vespers in two Romano Catholic churches
situated on Grjybovo and the so-called
Old Place, and that the Jews had even
broken the cross and some of the holy
pictures in those churches. All these
rumors were, of course, false. NoJew
was arrested in any of the churches !;
but, nevertheless, it is evident that the
instigators of the riots were perfectly
well acquainted with the weak side of
the Warsaw mob-religious fanaticism
and applied all their efforts to arouse
it, and presently succeeded in it.
In Warsaw there is a great number
of workshops in which mostly young
artisans are kept at work. This being
Christmas day, these workingmen,
called Gn Polish) "terminstors," were
roaming around the streets. Being in.
censed by the above wild rumors, they
picked up stones and proceeded to
smash the windows of the Jewish
wine-shops, which were open Though it
is forbidden by the Russian laws to
open them while the services are going
on in the churches), and to tear down
the signs of other shops, which all
belonged to the lower classes of Jews.
Subsequently, the terminators were re.
inforced by a number of common
thieves, and they proceeded to plunder
all the Jewish shops: goods were de-
stroyed, casks of whisky were rolled
out and smashed to pieces, while the
assailants helped themselves literally
} to their contents. The police inter
vened, trying to re-establish order, but
the mob fed to other streets and there
began their work of destruction anew.
} Several detachments of infantry were
sent to assist the police, and seme
order was re-established in the even
ing, while numerous mounted patrols
!, guarded the streets during the night,
! On the morning of Dec. 26 the same
, r1otous mob made raid on other Jew.
, ish shops, and the disturbance went on
unabated the whole day, though the
infantry and the detachments of the
guards not only applied the whip
(nagaiky) to disperse the crowd, but
shet at them with blank cartridges
During these two days Of riots the
streets in the neighborhood of the
Church of. the Holy Cross suffered the
most, and they are inhabited by the
poorest class Of Jewish traders, pawn.
brokers, wine distillers, and the like
The great Jewish quarter of the town
comprising Nalevky and other streets,
, where the bulk of the Jewish popula,
tion reside, was since the beginning OF
/ the riots encircled by military Gordon
/ and nobody was allowed to enter il
, without showing a special permit
i. OF the police. Thus the richie,
| part of the Jewish population
! was completely sheltered, but tn,
poorest Jews suffered severely. Not
Q withstanding the fact that the soldier,
, were really doing all they could to pro
s tect the Jews, and many of them wer,
r bodily injured in 80 doing, and severel,
i injured by the Jewish women, WIN
!. poured boiling water out OF the win
dow on all passers by, the general CT,
!: was that the authorities were abettini
9 the rioters, since they let the soldier
!, shoot with blank cartridges. On tn,
; other hand many instigators-wel
= dressed people, too-circuiated th,
+ rumors that the Jews declared tha
y they refused henceforth to bear thei