The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-23
SCHOOLS .l!Il! SsCL0SED and
WATER SUPPLY CUT
The BLOODY SCENES RESEMBLE
At PAGE oFyfT H e AR "a iiS. II.
a 81 5S1 1lAN IN "a HITS. u
BysPnblishesrrssll .pre.s.s. !. 3 !

I'd. BAN NIGHTS. III
y CBy Publishers. Press ~ ii
ST, PETERSBURG. Jan. % Tho
government has decided on The most
stringent measures TO check the. ponu-
Lace today All the schools Of the
city have been. closed, In many
places tho 5waterSsupply has been cut.
II the story OF yesterdays massacre
In st: Petersburg itself was unbeliev:
able, the tale Of last nights conflicts
and deaths In the Basil Island district
resemble nothing so much us a page
from the Arabian Nights, or an 3exag:
gerated account OF the days Of the
commune In France, when line after
line OF human beings fell to raise no
more. When the fury of the citizens
Of the city had been spent, and the
strikers had fed Other homes, ours.
ing the hated troops and the men who
held them In: their grasp, the desire
for vengeance was the predominant
feeling In the breasts Of the strikers.
Where should5it5begln and how. were.
the questions to be answered.
Y AS though with one accord the
strikers began to gather in the streets
Of Basil Island. Knowing the hope:
lessness Of opposing the troops, as
demonstrated in the city during the
afternoon, the strikers began erecting
barricades. Ladders telegraph poles,
old sleighs, everything available was
reqnisitioned, and before long street
after street was Darricaded, the forth
|;fications covered with sheet OF ice.
Y News Of this new development was
not no long in reaching the ears Of the
authorities, who quickly lySreallzed that
tos spraFent' the strikers obtaining
permanent base from which they.
could readily descend In armed and
nlassed forces; on st. Petersburg and
the Palace, it6was necessary to take
most strenuous measures. \
At 1:20 this morning a mixed band
of troops was accordingly rushed to
the scene with orders to dlsperse the
woorkmen no matter what means or at
what cost ~ &. f.,
The troops crossed the Neva and
at double.qulck pace charged upon
the barricades. They were met with
a yolley Of bricks and other. missiles
and for a moment were held back.
But stones and Ice picks were Of no
avail against leader messengers Of
death. and in the twinkllng OF an eye,
the first barricade went down. 5s
Then hell was loose In the ranks
Of the workers. Here an old man, and
there woman with a crying baby in
her arms went down before the rain
Of shot. S95
In the middle of a street an aged
priest, urged to visit the spot by his
love for his flock who we're in danger
Of death, knelt in the street and Of.
fered a prayer for the salvation Of his
loved ones. With hands raised to
Heaven and with words Of love as.
cending, he was struck. tottered and
fell dead.
Small bbys, like, boys the world
over. had rushed ito tho scene drawn
BY the excitement. From the list Of
those who fell may be found hun.
dred Of these lads, who, though not
participants in the awful drama, yet
paid the penalty Of their elders
frenzy. s,5a n NJ
When the last barricade had fallen
and the lastillying and nnwounded
man and woman had fed from the
scene, street after street was strewn
with the bodies Of workmen. "A heap
Of dead or dying at every barrlcade
marked the resistless progress Of the
guards. The clash is said by several
who witnessed 1t to have exceeded
anything in the history Of the French
resolution. It is estimated by, some
that fully two thousand were either
killed or wounded. !, I;
Admiralty Works Ablazze. s.y e.
| ~ tH 81 #HHf a.