Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-10-14
WOMEN STORM PARLIAMENT
Enormous Crowd Stops All Traffic in
Vicinity of Westminster.
). sYMoNs IS ELECTED
House of Common. PASSES Order thnt
Women Are Not to BE Per-
mitted 90 Enter the
BuiIdiRE.

LONDON. Oct. 1S.--The climax of the
suffragette campaign was reached to-
night when an enormous mob hemmed in
Parliament and stopped traffic in all
streets leading to Westminster. For more
than three hours the crowds scuffled good
naturedly with the police, interfered with
theatergoers broke windows and disor-
ganized things generally in the center OF
London.
The heroine of the day was Mrs. Travers
Symons, formerly secretary TO James Keir
Hardie, the socialist and Independent
member of Parliament, who reached the
door of the House of Commons by STRAIT
egy. The house was solemnly debating al
bill to prevent children from cigarett,
smoking when the woman dashed past
the doorkeeper to a position in front o.
the speakers chair and shouted shrilly
Leave off discussing children and tall
about women"
Three officials seized Mrs. Symons anu
carried her out bodily She was then led
to the outer door and dismissed AS a
result of the coup an order was issued
that hereafter women shall not be ad-
mitted to the building on any pretext
whatever and in the future the historic
grille will not screen feminine spectators.
House in state of Siege.
The appeal issued by the suffragettes
a few days ago for $4,000 persons to help
them rush" Parliament at 1880 this even
ing was the most successful stroke yet.
Not less than twice that number re-
sponded to the call and nine-tenths of
these were young persons who came to
see the fun. There were also few hun
dred of the unemployed and their sympa-
thizers.
Parliament was in a stage of siege. A
close triple line of police was drawn
around the three sides of the square in
front of the building. The yard within
the gates swarmed with police and 200
guarded the terrace in the rear against
| assault by water which the women twice
attempted. A small fleet of police boats
also patrolled the Thames approaches
| All the mounted police in London ant
suburbs had been mobilzed at this center
and loads of hay were stacked in the
streets for the horses The whole policC
force, together with cavalry, infantry ant
marines, numbering more than 5000, wai
kept busy in restraining the pushing strug
| Cling masses, especially about Trafalgar
| square.
The crowds cheered, sang songs and
hooted in a semi-good natured manner a
!
| their orange sashes swarmed everywhere
distributing tracts.
Suffragett0S Are RePuIsed.
delegation of thirteen suffragettes
which approached the police Gordon anC
was formally refused admission to Par
| lament, attempted a foot ball rush, bu
/ the police chivalrously repulsed the womeT
with the least possible roughness. Th'
police were pelted with vegetables and SOM
stones in a few minor skirmishes that oe
CURED, but nobody was seriously hurt
Twenty-four suffragettes and twelve o
| the unemployed were placed under arrest
Many persons tainted in the crush, few
were trampled upon and taken to the hos
pital Mrs. Pankhurst, Miss Christabe
Pankhurst and Mrs. Lawrence were sum
moned TO court yesterday igor melting
breach of the peace; this morning the!
coolly refused to obey the summons, bu
agreed 10 surrender themselves at o'clocl
in the evening, which they did, spending
the night in the Bow street station.
The suffragettes and unemployed haV
kept practically the whole police force OF
duty continuously for forty-eight hours.