The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-05-13
People in Mortal Terror
For Their Lives.
Anarchy Rears Its Red and
Awful Front.
The Religious Orders Prepar
ing for a Siege.
A Pitiable Condition OF Affairs I'm the
Ancient Capital

LONDON, MAY GA letter received here
from Rome discloses a number of new
facts in regard to the riots which took
place there on May day. and as to the gen.
eral feeling of the people upon the same
occasion.
According to this letter the public off,
Gals at Rome, as well as the people, have
been in a state of actual panic for a week
or two. This state of affairs, it appears, is
due to several causes, the most prominent
of which are the fall of the ministry
headed by Minister Crispi, the accession
of the Rudini ministry into power, the
strong public demand for an equalization
of expenses and receipts without fresh
taxation, the diplomatic troubles which
have arisen between Italy and the United
States, and finally the explosion at Pozzo-
pantalo, which caused so much damage
and alarm in Rome and its vicinity. All
these incidents have tended TO bring about
the feeling of panic which, as already
stated, exists among the public officials
and the inhabitants generally at Rome.
In spite of all the denials and official
statements made to the effect that the ex-
plosion at Pozzopantalo WAS not the work
of socialists or anarchists, the Romans are
convinced that the explosion was the
work of anarchists, and it will require
considerable and most clear evidence to
the contrary to convince the people that
they are mistaken.
So deeply is this conviction rooted in
the public breast that the people live in
daily expectation of hearing that there
has been an explosion in another powder
magazine or that some public building has
been blown up.
As this letter was written before the
fire yesterday which destroyed the bar
racks, stables and storehouses of the Cara
bineria and which created so much alarm
at the vatican that the full force of Swiss
guards were kept under arms all night,
| the feeling now existing in Rome can be
easily imagined and especially as the fire
is currently attributed to the socialists or
anarchists. The feeling of panic referred
to in the letter from Rome is thus appar-
| emily justified or. at least, it has received a
sufficient amount OF confirmation to enable
the pessimists at least to say Il told
| you So"
Continuing, the letter says that the
| crisis which undoubtedly exists has caused
| a collapse of speculative enterprises,
which state of affairs has, in turn, thrown
| thousands OF workingmen out of employ
ment and in this state of enforced idle
ness they naturally become dissatisfied
with their employers, with the govern
ment. and with the whole system under
! which they live In this frame of mind
the workingmen become ready prey for
| the agitators who are continually digging
away at the foundations of popular con-
| tent.
On May day, this letter says, the natural
excitability of the workingmen was
worked up TO fever-heat. and the widest
rumors were circulated by those who h ad
| everything to gain and nothing to
lose by q popular disturbance These
rumors were continually magnified, aud
nowhere was the panic greater than at the
vatican and among the various religious
societies and committees of the city. In
| this section it. was stated that these religi-
Gus bodies had hurriedly stocked their
| headquarters with five DAYS provisions
and that the inmates had been strictly
confined within doors In a word. the re-
| ligiOus communities were so alarmed at
the socialist faint in the air that they had
prepared to stand a seige in the event of a
! Wholesale uprising on the part of the
masses. But this panic WAS not confined
| to the religious bodies. The richer fam
lilies OF the city were also so seriously
alarmed that they adopted the same tao
tics as the religious institutions and stored
| provisions in their houses and made other
preparations to face a serious riot and,
perhaps, an attack upon their residences.