South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-02-04

There was a door down 10 the
cellar inside the tent and there were
earth steps The door was left open
as ] went down and I don't know how
IL came TO be closed later. When
got down in the cellar there were
three women and eight children there.
] knew them all. / had my baby i'm
my arms IL was six months old. The
others were close 20 me and my boy
had hold Of my. dress"
Twirling the handkerchief in her
hands the woman looked over AT Mr.
Walsh and IN a voice from which all
emotion seemed TO have been drained.
she said:
Gle would have been five years old
yesterday boy"
You lost all three OF your children
there" said Walsh
Yes sir" she replied soft and low.
II lost them that night"
And again she twisted the handker-
chief into a knot. A woman on the
front row Of benches sobbed audibly.
A shufning OF feet and the deep
breathing Of the spectators swept over
the room. Mrs. Petrucci gazed duly
at her questioner.
Became Unconscious.
1--WE were i'm the cellar about ten
minutes" she said. when the tent
over our heads took fire. don't
know how it started. It was not on
fire when I went in Pretty soon after
that we all lost consciousness
But before that asked Walsh.
didn't YOU try to escape p"
1T was all on fire over our heads"
replied the woman simply
Did YOU do anything TO save your
children p"
What could /? oh. yes. There
was a woman there with a blanket.
] asked her 10 share it with me for
my babies--One was six months YOU
know and the other two and a half
years old, and my boy four. She told
me it was only big enough for her
self"
Mrs. Petrucci sighed II was the
only display of emotion she made dur
ing the recital. That blanket cor
ner of il might have saved one Of the
babes from suffocation that quickly
overlook all three. She sighed at the
recollection.
Guards Were Laughing.
The next / knew" she said plain
lively was when / woke up at
O'clock the next morning. / ran out
FOR water for my babies. they were
lying there. / thought water would
help them. l did not know what I
was doing. / felt like / was drunk
Outside / saw guards walking down
the railroad track They were laugh
ing. 1 kept turning back all the
time. ] was afraid they would shoot
me-"
Again the frightened look came into
her dark-ringed black eyes \ score
Of women i'm the audience were weep
ing now. Save for their smothered
signs the room was in absolute silence
The changing of a bell on one Of the
lower floors of the Metropolitan build
ing rang out like funeral note.
81 went to the railroad station" SAID
Mrs. Petrucci. I didn't know what
was doing. / asked Mrs. Horning To
go look for my babies She said she
couldn't find them. Some one bought
me a ticket for Trinidad. / was in bed
there nine days with pneumonia.
did not see my children again.
A woman i'm the front row groaned
and Mrs. Petrucci looked down at her
with dazed eyes.
Don't you know how the fire start
ed ?" asked Commissioner Weinstock.
Started in Her Tent.
NO sir. The beginning of the fire
was in my tent. 1t was about S
o'clock. 1t was still light. 1t started
outside"
But when you went out didn't you
see anyone =
mo sir. only the militiamen."
For a full two minutes the commits
sioners gazed silently at the woman.
Then finally Weinstock asked:
When YOU got to the railroad sta
tion what did YOU think had become
of your children >"
Il wasn't thinking of anything" re-
piled Mrs. Petrucci clasping the hand
kerchief TO her breast.
Mother Jones took the woman i'm
ha 17n hn
stand and led her away.
Preceding Mrs Petrucci on the
stand was Mrs. Margaret Dominiski,
also the wife of a miner, who passed
through the night of April 20 in the
tent colony and narrowly escaped with
her children the bullets from ma
chine gun.