Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-09-19
MANY HURT IN STAMPEDE.

IL Was Caused by Negro Cutting the
Rope That Held the Crowd Back.
Washington. Sept. Is. Nearly 100
persons were injured, or tainted, during
the stampede that occurred at the east
front of the Capitol, yesterday. Only
one person, however, Mrs Elisha Bote-
Ter OF Washington, was hurt seriously.
She was injured internally.
Stories as tot the origin of the
stampede differ. About 1890 o'clock
thv ropes that were intended TO guide
the reople into narrow double line
before they mounted the steps to the
rotunda were parted, the steps were
damned and many persons were
trampled. The police worked vigorously
to restore order, held the men and
women in line wherever their own
number was great enough, and under
the circumstances did all that could
have been expected. But the list of
perons injured and the quantity OF bows
of ribbon, buttons, hats, umbrellas,
shoes and other articles strewn over the
steps indicate what n serious affair the
rush was for nearly an hour.
About the tine the officials within
the dome were ready to admit the
public one of the Capitol police walked
down the steps and called to another
Capitol policeman: -.
lyon Can let those people. up now.n
Immediately the whole barricade gave
way. The stets were jammed in an
instant Screams were heard from all
parts of the crowd. Two or three men
cried out that women were being killed.
The police ran up with all haste and
trisd to establish cordon about the
entrance to the rotunda, but were swept
away again and again. The crowd car
ried everything before it, first up the
steps, then back to the plaza. Finally
the ambulances arrived and the cIang
of their aongs, the sight Of the white
coated surgeons and the efforts of the
police had effect. The crowd was pressed
back to the asphalt and the ropes set
into place again.
From Miss Wood, one of the injured,
the authorities learned that negro cut
the rope with razor Just as the word
came that the public might be ad-
mitted. The man rushed up the stairs
like one out OF his senses, says M ISIS
Wood, knocked her to the pavement
before him and broke her ribs by kick
ing her in the breast.
In another part OF the crowd woman,
nHhoo ohtito buu OoCu toru lEplu utrs 10
gaid to have pressed forward toward the
top of the steps until compelled by the
police 10 desist.
Probably so umbrellas we're trampled
under foot. That no small children
were hurt is due to the fact that parents
we're everywhere holding their charges
high in the air. The confusion ended
about /. 80 o'clock.
Lack OF authority prevented the local
police from suppressing the disorder as
speedily as might otherwise have been
the case. Under the law the use of the
Capitol grounds can be granted by the
Capitol Polioe Commission only when
the Speaker OF the House and the Presi.
dent OF the Senate are out of the city.
In this instance the grant was made
by the commission, but without speci-
fled regulations for maintaining order.
In consequence the metropolitan officers
were powerless tn do anything further
than expostuate with the crowd, all
authority for using clubs and other
extreme measures being reg ularly vested
In the Capitol police.