The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1906-09-11
FRANTIC PARENTS
CAUSE WILD PANIC BY FALSE
ALARM OF FIRE IN A
SCHOOL BUILDING.
Originates From Burning Rubbish
Small Boy Spreads Report
in Poor Chicago District
and Tramples Teach
ersin Rush to Save
Children-Oth.
er News.

ers In Rush to Save
Children-Oth.
er News.
Chicago, Sept. IA mob of ig.
norant, terrified mothers and fatn-
ers stormed the John M. Smyth
public school this morning and
caused panic among the 1900 chill
dren in The building, which is the
heart of the Ghetto. The men and
women fought like beasts to reach
their little ones, who in their blind
fear they believed would be burned
to death. They attacked the teach
ers who strove vainly to prevent a
panic, and ran from floor to floor,
mingling the names of their little
ones with the cries of fire and wild
supplications to the Virgin. Nine
teen nationalities are represented in
this district and all went mad.
For a few minutes the children
wavered. They heard both the
cries of their parents and the COM
mands of their teachers. In the
end discipline broke under the strain
and boys and girls, big and little,
catching the contagion of sense.ess
fear, m ade rush for the doors.
| The teachers, mere girls, som of
them, pale, calm, stood against the
doors and struggled to restore ord
er. By chance a merciful Providence
or something else, all escaped un-
hurt Some of the smaller children
! we're bruised, frocks were torn and
facss scratched, but the madness
Ipassed and the teachers restored or.
| det before any of their charges had
been injured.
Of course there was no fire.
In the grounds of the Smyth
school thr portable one-story
school structures have bee n erected
In one of these the janitor swept to-
gether pile of rubbish shortly at
ter o'clock this morning and light
ed it. A small boy, tardy and hat
ing school, saw the thin spiral OF
smoke curling from the window. He
turned and ran homeward, crying
as be want:
''Th schools .burnin'; they'se fire
in the school,"
Many mothers were standing ir
the street blrgaining with hucksters
or gossipping with neighbors. Big
brawny women those muthers are
and they love and fight for theil
young as do wild animals. They
heard the cry and took it up. II
three minutes those words:
"The school is burning" were
ringing through tie streets in hal
a dozen languages.
Then came the first rush. Wo
men dropped nursing babies, turned
from washtubs without stopping tt
wipe off the suds; dropped thei
marketing in the street and started
madly for the school. AT their heae
was man, and here and there il
the throng were other men, bu
nearly all were women, and al
were mad with fear. From marrow
side streets and twisting allies the,
poured into Blue Island avenue.
The thin column of smoke sti
rose from the little school building
The windows Of the main structur
mele open and the hum of childish
recitation could be heard. Sav
for the thin column of smoke ther
was no sign of fire and absolutel
none of danger. But the unreason
ing mob did not stop.
Like charging army the parent
swept through the school yard an
entered the building by every door
Teachers were swept aside an
trampled upon. Their orders, thei
pleas not to start panic and thei
assurances that there was no fir
\ went unheaded.
! Some of the frantic mothers ha
| heard from friends in New York {
| the wild day there when the schoc
authorities had attempted to butch
I er children. They recalled that no
/ and shouted that their little one
were burned to death deliberately
They struck savagely at the fraile
women who confronted them an
swept from room to room, shrek
ling the names Of their children III
til the building had been emptiet
Salem, Or, Sept. IF. M. M
Elfresh. superintendent of the lare
! Wallace orchard near this cit
: committed suicide this evening