Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-11-29
BOMB FIRED IN CHURCH
PANIC FOLLOWS EXPLOSION IN ST.
PETERS ROME.
Deed WITHOUT PARALLEL
Perpetrator Escapes While Men, Wom-
en- and Children Struggle
to Reach Exits.

Rome-Just after the last a had
been said in the crowded st. Peters
cathedral Sunday, in celebration Of
the anniversary u the dedication Of
the basilica, a man lighted the fuse
of a bomb which had been placed al
the altar of st. P%etronilla. The ex
plosion occurred as a canon, with up
lifted arm, turned to bless the com
~municants. Dense clouds of smoke
rolled through the cathedral, the
crowd rushed panic stricken for the
doors and in the excitement the bomb
thrower escaped.
The outrage is without a parallel in
Rome since st. Anacietus, who was
ordained by Peter himself, erected an
oratory in 80 A. D., on the site of the
present boscilica, to mark the spot
where the remains of st. Peter are
buried.
That no one was injured by the ex
plosion or in the panic that followed
| seems miraculous. As soon as the
echoes of the roar had ceased, a canon
sought, by r%eassuring words, to quiet
the people, but in vain. They fed In
all directions, and children screamed
and the men tried to protect theil
families in the crush.
The canon at the altar tried to stem
the tide of fear. He shouted out:
do not be afraid; it is nothing;
merely the MONDAY gum"
Mad Rush For Doors.
His words had little effect. They
were refuted by the smoke and the
pungent smell of powder, and the PEG
pie continued their headlong flight
Chairs were overthroWn, making the
confusion more serious. Men and WON
en- fed, stumbling in all directions
the creams Of children and cries o.
anguish were heard on all sides, ant
for a few minutes 1t seemed as if moth
ing could avert a grave disaster.
The vast size of the church, how
ever, gave room for the crowd to scat
ter, and at the end of a few moments
the people were surging towards the
doors, excited and nervous, but or
derby.
AS soon as the smoke cleared away
a hasty examination showed that no
body had been hurt in the crush and
furthermore, that no one had beer
wounded by the explosion. Calm was
gradually restored, and people re
turned to view the extent Of the dam
age.
The bomb had been placed under /;
scaffolding that had been erected tt
facilitate repairs to the roof exactl,
under the celebrated tomb of Clemen
XIII, by Canova, which consists of
figure of the pope, and which is thu
most remarkable piece of sculpture IL
the basilica. This tomb ranks anon
the finest efforts of modern sculpture
and by its execution Canova estab
lished his reputation.
When the first gendarmes reached
the spot the scaffolding was found tt
be %smoldering, but this fire was easil,
extinguished. The tomb was found tt
be uninjured, and even the pavemen
shows scarcely any signs of the ex
plosion.
An examination of the fragments O
the bomb leads to the superstition tina
unless it was manufactured in tn,
country and brought to Rome. 1t il
believed that the bomb had a yer,
long fuse in order to enable the Grim
inal to gain the plaza before the ex
plosion. 1t has been impossible t,
trace him, and no one has any recol
lection of seeing a man who by hi
movements might have aroused sus
picion.