The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-28

Sent Out for Doctors and Surgeons-
 Terrible Loss of Life Narrowly Avert
 ed at St. MichaeI's Catholic church
 Yesterday of Congregation
 Caused by Sense.esA or Maliclous Cry
 of Fire-Four of the Badly Injured
 Taken so Hospital.
 Another scene of intense excitement for the people of St. Michaels R. c. church occurred yesterday morning. This occurred while services were proceeding with large con gregation present. Since their church was burned down last January they have been meeting in their old place of worship, the building at the corner of Wooster and Brewery streets. and yes- terday morning panic occurred dur ing the services which resulted in four people being seriously injured and score or more badly hurt.
 It being Palm Sunday the church was packed to the doors at the nine o'clock mass. and shortly after Father Aresta Eluscia had commenced the services a stampede occurred Men, Women and children were crushed down and piled in heaps four and five deep on the floor.
 The stories as to the cause of the stampede are numerous and none of them have yet been proven correct, although that of Trustee Donate yece. who was present during the trouble. seems to be by far the best version Of fered. MT. Vece says that he was seat ed in the front part of the church and at about 925 o'clock man came up the aisle and said: Smell the gas. A mo- ment later he cried Fire! F'ire!" When this was heard a mad rush was made for the door and numbers of those present were trampled under foot, otll- CTS climbing over their bodies. Owing to the fact that there is only one exit, small one surrounded by storm doors, the crush was tremendous. While this was going on, F. s. Hamilton, jr., of 29 Warren street who from his home saw the people trampling out into the street, rang the fire alarm and it is probably owing to this and the quick arrival of No 7's engine company, as well as Ser geant Smith and several officers from the Grand avenue station, that there was'n not a number of fatalities. As soon as the fire department arrived they broke down the storm doors, thereby enlarging the exit, and they also broke open @ number of windows. Parents threw their children out through the windows and then climbed out after them
 As soon as the alarm of fire had been sounded the streets surrounding the church were crowded with hundreds of people and it was only with the great est difficulty that the work of rescue was carried out, as the people persist- ed in getting in the way of the fire men and the police.
 Sergeant Smith arrived on the scene almose instantly, and he was accompa- nied by Officers Lonergan and Lanni- gan. As soon as he saw the state of af-t fairs turned in a general alarm which was responded to by ali the policemen in the city who could be gotten. He then summoned Signal Officers Higgins and Bradley with their anbulances and all the police wagons. He then notified y all the physicians whom they could get and all hurried to the scene. In addi- ton to the ambulances and patrol wagons a number of carriages were summoned to carry away the patients. All these were taken to their homes ex- cept the four who were most seriously injured. These were taken to the New Haven hospital. They were Mrs. Alfon- so Carlanito, 35 years old of 8 Greene 4 street, her nine years old daughter, Ra- chel Mrs. Jerome Carda, 55 years old, of West Haven, and Annie Moncello, nine years old of 27 Collis street. All these victims are horribly crushed and bruised and it was stated at the hos ly that all would die.
 A peculiar phase of the whole affair is the fact that only one case of broken bone was reported and that was Rachel Carlanito, whose left hip is broken and who is expected to die at any moment.
 Chief Fancher did all that he could to relieve the sufferings of the victims and carry on the work of rescue. He car- ried out of the building a number of those who had been trampled under foot and placed them in the waiting conveyances.
 The excitement in the streets was about as great as in the church and it was with the greatest difficulty that the police kept back the excited crowds.
 After everyone had been gotten out of the building a thorough investigation of the premises was made by Chief Fan cher, but not a sign of any fire or es caping gas could be found.
 MT. Vece stated last night that he was on the track of the man who had given the alarm, and he hoped to mo- tify the police in the near future as to his identity.
 The names of those who were hurt, except those taken to the hospital, could not be learned, but the police say that about thirty had to be taken to their homes and that they were all more or less bruised, although none of them appeared to be seriously hurt. Several of those who were in the church at the time had their clothes badly torn in the melee.
 Rev. Bartolomeo Marenchino, the pas- tor of the church, was up stairs in the building when the trouble occurred and therefore knew nothing about how it started. Alfonso Maresca. the Grand avenue undertaken, and the other trus-