Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-26
ITALIAN RIOT
!: DETAILS TOLD
FIRST time
Trouble Grew Out of Short
age of Bread and
Flour.

AUr1CIl, oWlIACI I'll Wv
the arrival. here of In Italian from
Turin the full details of the riots there
late in August ire known. The Italian
>ensor suppressed them rigidly. ant
the military authorities even closed
the border to Switzerland for a con-
siderable period SO that they might
not get out to the rest OF the world.
The trouble began on August ~, &C
cording to the Turin resident who has
succeeded in coming to Zurich, and
grew worse as the days followed. days
now known in Italy AZ the Red Days
Of Turin" A shortage of bread and
-four was the cause. When the poorer
people from the popular quarter,
Porta Palazzo. unable to obtain
anything to eat they formed into col
umns and began marching toward city
hall to protest. Arrived there. they
began to shout, we want, bread"
Police are Helpless.
The police on the first evening were
shed. On the following day, when the
people discovered the bakeries shut
for want of flour, dissatisfaction re-
Cured and the crowds became SO
menacing that the police sounded the
familiar trumpet warning. The people,
instead of dispensing, began making a
round of all the factories. inducing the
workmen and women to go on strike.
The police i%nterferred and arrested
many women.
The disorders became violent on the
second evening and the first shots
were fired by the police. killing two
women and a boy of Ia. The crowd
was awed for the time being and dis
persed at midnight, but the next day
thousands gathered, and the work was
quickly passed for a general revolu-
tionary strike, to "avenge the vacumss :
No Trains Running.
Bread was still not to be had and no
trains were running because the rail
city gates leading to Milan, Nice and
San Paolo barricades were erected,
The police, in the absence OF troops
were unable to handle the situation
and fell back after one futile attempt
Something led the crowd to make an
attack on the Church Of the San Ber-
nadine Brothers, in the basement OF
which they discovered a large supply
of coal. Pa~instakingly the coal was
church was set on fire. The f1remen
were called. but. when they arrived,
the crowd fought them off and pre-
vented them from putting water on
the flames. Two days later the church
was still burning, almost a total ruin
Alpini Troops Arrived.
Presently Alpini troops arrived, but
they refused to attack the crowd, and
either placed their hats over their ri.
fe muzzles as In indication that they
would not attack, or else fired into
the air. Accordingly they had to be
retired to heir garrison, while the
crowd attacked little groups of police
and militia and disarmed them.
At the church Of the Madonna della
Pace the curate fired on q mob which
t"hereupon set fire to his church. New
soldiers charged and some women
were shot by cavalrymen.
Mob Sweeps Through Streets.
The enraged mob swept through the
streets, stopping long enough at the
Cafe Ligure, p%atronized by army con:
tractors, to wreck it and kill a major
Three other officers and a number OF
ing for having attacked the strikers
The arrival on the scene of bersagliert
did no good because they declined tc
shoot at the crowds.
On Friday. the worst Of the RED
Days." cavalry was brought into &c.
ton and attacked the crowd in the Via
Villfranca, in the San Paolo quarter
At first even the cavalry was repulsed
by the maddened throng, but oInel
troops arrived in such numbers thai
by Friday night they had the upper
hand. The military authorities emptied
the military storehouses of all bread
on hand and distributed 1t to the pop.
ulace, even though they had to de.
prive the. troops of their supplies fol-
"a hours. and the wounded in the
hospitals had to go without.
BY Sunday the uprising had termi.
mated.