The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1906-11-23
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.

Romc-Just after the last mass had
been said In the crowded st, Peters
cathedral Sunday In celebration OF
the anniversary Of the dedication OF
the basiHca, man lighted the fuse
Of bono which had been placed at
the altar of ST Pctronilla. The cN'
plosiun occurred rs canon, with up.
lifted arm, turned to bless the com.
muniCants. Dense clouds Of smoke
rolled through the cathedral. the
crowd rushed panIc-str!ckcn for the
doors and in the excitement the bomb
thrower escaped,
Tho outrage is without parallel in
Rome since St AnaCictus, who was
ordained by Peter himself, erected an
oratory in 90 A. d.. on the site Of the
present boscilca, to mark the spot
where the remains Of St Peter are
buried
That no one was injured by the cx.
plosiun or In the panic that followed
seems miraculous. As soon as the
echoes of the roar had ceased, canon
sought. by rcassuring words to quiet
the people, but in vain. They fled in
all directions, and children screamed,
and the men tried to protect their
families in the crush.
The canon al the altar tried to stem
the tide OF fear iIe shouted out:
DO not be afraid, 1t 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 peo.
pie continued their headlong flight
Chairs were overthrow. making the
confusion more serious. Men and won.
en- fed, stumbling in all directions,
the screams Of children and cries OF
anguish were heard on all sides, and
for a few minutes 1t seemed as If moth.
ing could avert grave disaster
The vast size Of the church, how.
ever, gave room for the crowd to scat
ter, and at the end of q few moments
the people were surginE towards the
doors, excited and nervous, but or
Derby
As soon as the smoke cleared away.
n hasty examination showed that no
body had been hurt in the crush and.
furthermore. that no one had been
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 a
scaffolding that had been erected TO
facilitate repairs 20 the roof exactly
under the celebrated tomb OF Clement
Kill. by Canova, which consists of n
figure OF the pope, and which is the
most remarkable piece Of sculpture in
the baslica This tomb ranks among
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 to
be smoldering, but this fire was easily
eXtinguished. The tomb was found to
be uninjured, and even the pavement
shows scarcely any signs Of the ex.
plOsion,
An examination of the fragments OF
the bomb leads to the suppositiOn that
unless 1t was manufactured in the
country and brought to Rome 1t is
believed that the bomb had very
long fuse in order TO enable the Grim.
inal to gain the plaza before the ex.
plosion. 1t has been impossible to
trace him, and no one has any recol.
lection OF seeing n man who by his
movements might have aroused sus
picion.