The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1913-12-25
HORRIBLE SIGHT
REVEALED when
RESCUE ARRIVES
Striking Miners and Children Of
Calumet at Christmas En-.
tertainment. /
HALLWAY BLOCKED AND =.
LIVES ARE CRUSHED OUT
Citizens of Nearby Towns Take Up
Collections for Aid Of Be.
reaved Relatives. e !;

taiuiEet, MICH, Dec. 24.-Folr
score persons. mostly children, were
killed tonight at a Christmas ccle-
bration. given by copper mine
strikers in Italian hail. when need
less panic was caused by a false
| alarm of fire. While several hun
| dred miners and their wives looked
on, scores of children pressed top-
, wards the stage 30 receive gifts that
were being handed out. Suddenly
a man stuck his head in the door
and yelled fire"
The cry was al once taken up by
| many in the hal. and everyone
started for the doors. The weaker
ones were thrown to the floor and
those behind tried 10 crawl over
them. In a few mlnhies there was
a panic and the stairway . was
blocked so tightly tina. those inside
could not get out and those witho,i.
could not get in to aid tho maimed
and dead. The alarm was taken up
outside by few persons who we're
near the.udsassrAAa aesrspcda
0n'y One Visible Exit.
The only visible exit TO the hall
lNas narrow stairway at the rear
and when this had been cleared and
access to the hall had been gained.
II was found that there we're
corpses in the building. II is be-
lioyed that more trau dozen more
were carried away by relatives or
friends. The dead include 81 girls,
10 boys and 13 women.
The excited relatives stood about
the building, some calling hys-
tefically for their missing children
and few threatening violence TO
the rescuers for keeping them back
from the long row of bodies.
There was not much work for thu
doctors, for those not trampicd and
killed were held upright and saved
by the force o. the onrush teuard
the exit. Three were taken to hos
pitfalls and few went home with the
assistance of friends.
For many days the children had
waited anAioasly for the Christmas
tree arranged by the woman auxil-
ltary Of the Western Federation OF
Miner and when the entertainment
started In the early evening. tie
hail. ON the second floor of lie
building was filled to tho limit.
Santa Claus Appears.
The children collected TO rei.n
Christmas selections and had fin.
shed their part of the program. aaI
man dressed as Santa Claus had
appeared to distribute the presents
piled up high about the huge Christ.
mas tree. The boys and girls wee
instructed to march up the aisle 20
receive their presents aud they were
pressing toward the stage when the
man yelled fire,
The wtachman near the door
realized the danger of ibis act aud
seized thu man by the shoulder. but
he dashed away. The fatal wori
had reached many in the hall and II
was repeated in several languages
and parents rushed toward their
children. Many lives were crushed
OUT in a twinkling. Only the physi-
cal imposibility OF further move
ment brought the persons to their
senses and they realized too late.
that there was no FIRE.
Police and firemen hurried TO the
building, only to find the hallway
impossible. Some OF ,he Officers
found the fire escapes and entered
the, hall by means of the windows
and began the work of rescue.
Citizens Come to aid.
The citizens of Calumet aud
Houghton rallied tonight 10 the aid
of those bereaved by the panic and
bv 10 o'clock the residents had
raised a fund of $1,s00 ana COM