The San Francisco call. [volume], May 31, 1896, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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VOLUME LXXIX.-NO. 183.
FOUND DEATH AT THE FEAST
Fatal Panic Among Russian Peas=
ants Who Assembled on the
Hodynsky Plain.
MOUJIKS MADE MAD BY FEAR CRUSHED THE
WEAKER IN THE STAMPEDE.
Hundreds Perished in the Only Calamity That Has
Attended the Brilliant Festivities Connected
With the Coronation of the Czar.
MOSCOW, Russia, May 30.— A terrible '
accident, resulting in the loss of a large
number of lives, occurred here to-day. •
The popular fete of • the coronation cere
monies was held to-day on the Hodynsky
Plain, opposite the Petrofsky Palace, and
it is estimated that fully 500,000 persons
attended. For days past the city has been
full of peasants from many parts of the
country, all awaiting the free feast that
was given to-day. Many peasants had
walked long distances in order to be pres
ent, while others, more fortunate, had ar
rived in the city in vehicles of every de
scription.
Expectation had reached the highest
point, for it was known that to-day's fetes
would excel anything of the kind ever
given in connection with the coronation
of the Czar. Long before daylight the
crowds began pouring in the direction of
the plain, while at an early hour all sorts
of merry-making was indulged in. The
scene was one to be -long remembered.
Great booths had been constructed on the
plain and from them were distributed free
food, free beer and also mugs as souvenirs
of the occasion.
This free. feast, which has always been
the popular feature of coronations, has
hitherto been the occasion of a great deal
of crowding and good-natured fighting for
places on the part of the hundreds ! of
thousands of guests in the city, but no
such gathering was ever witnessed on the
Hodynsky Plain, which has always been i
the scene of popular entertainments end
ing coronation*, us that which assembled
to-day. Everything progressed smoothly
until the distribution of the food and gifts
began.
Then the people in the rear began to
crowd forward, but the police and soldiers !
checked them, and' for a short time there j
was comparative order. Soon, however, !
the crowd in the rear again became impa- j
tient and surged forward despite every
effort to hold them back. Barriers had
been erected in the vicinity of the booths
to prevent excessive crowding, and under
ordinary circumstances these would have
been sufficient for the purpose. The peo
ple in front were swept against the bar
riers, where the enormous weight of the
surging mass in the rear was thrown di
rectly against them.
Mad with pain and fright the people
who -were crushed against the barriers
struggled to get away, but their attempts
were fruitless. Their shrieks were heard,
and this had the effect of further inciting
those in the rear to get forward. Sud
denly the barriers gave way, and with a
rush the immense throng swept forward.
Hundreds of men,, women and children
were thrown down, and to stumble or fall
meant death or serious injury, but no
power could check the crowd, many of
■whom were in a condition of panic The
authorities were helpless, and for a time
the scene baffled description. '
Many persons were killed by being
crushed against the barriers before, they
gave way, and a great number met their
Kate Field, the Talented Writer, Who Died at Honolulu on the 19th Inst.
The San Francisco Call.
death by being trampled npon. The cries
and shrieks of the injured could be heard
above -the tumult of the crowd, and the
effect was heartrending. . '• .V ."
Additional troops were called upon to
assist in quieting and dispersing the peo
ple. This they finally succeeded in doing,
when every effort was made to succor the
injured. Cossacks were placed at the en
trances of the 500 booths on the plain, and
into these, structures were carried the
bodies of the dead. ;
At the time of sending this 'dispatch
(4:50 p. M.) it is impossible to say how
many persons were killed, but the repre
sentative of the United Press, who was an
eye-witness of the whole affair, saw heaps
of bodies in the booths.
While the crush was most intense and
the curses, shrieks and howls of pain were
at their height, an unknown woman was
delivered of a child on the field. No at
tention was paid to them by the maddened
crowd and the mother and the infant were
trampled to death. -wj
Every facility was given for the identi
fication of the dead, but in most cases it
was impossible to recognize them, so
badly were they crushed and disfigured.
A large number of tlie dead were carried
away in ambulances and on tire trucks,
but many bodies are still in the booths.
It is highly probable that many of the
victims who came from a distance will
never be identified. These bodies will be
: interred by the Government. In fact, it
is believed that most of those who were
killed were moujiks from the provinces.
All the victims belonged to the peasant
class. The number of injured is very
large and it is thought many of them will
die. In some case? men had their arms,
legs and ribs broken, and sev»T.".l had t^cir
skulls fractured b> the heavy wooden
shoes of the peasants. The authorities
and members of the Russian Red Cross
Society are taking the best of care of the
injured.
disaster has cast a gloom over the
festivities, these being the first fatalities
that have occurred during the coronation
ceremonies.
The Czar and Czarina, when informed
! of the extent of the disaster, expressed
profound sorrow, and the Czar gave orders
that everything should be done to alle
viate the sufferings of the injured.
The calamity was, not due to any lack
of precaution on the part of the authori
ties, but arose entirely from the eagerness
of the people to enjoy the hospitality of
the Czar.
The fete was held in the presence of the
Czar and a distinguished company of
quests. His Majesty, after visiting the
| booths, the theater in which free perform
ances were given and the saloons, ap
peared at' 3:30 o'clock in a large pavilion
that bad been especially erected and
elaborately decorated for the occasion.
As he appeared the choirs present sang
the National anthem to the accompaai
Continued on Secvnd Page.
SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 31, 1896-THIRTY-TWO PAGES.
Scene at the Presidio yesterday during Irving M. Scott's address to the multitude that had assembled to attend
the Memorial Day exercises in honor of the dead heroes of the Nation. The platform from which Mr.
Scott spoke was built in full view of the Bay, and thousands listened as he spoke of the mournful yet
proud observance of the day set aside to honor those who fell in the defense of their country.
VICTIMS PLACED
IT FINAL REST
Hurried Burial of Many
Who Met Death in
the Tornado.
SERVICES MADE SHORT.
Undertakers Unable to Keep Up
With the Demand for Suita
ble Interments.
IESTITTJTION IN EAST 8T LOUIS
Hundreds Who Escaped the Fury of
the Elements in Danger of
Starvation,
ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 30.— One hundred
and twenty-eight victims of Wednesday's
horror were laid to rest to-day in the ceme
teries of this city and East St. Louis. The
total of interments would have been larger
but for the fact that the facilities of the
undertaking establishments were inade
quate to the sudden and pressing require
ments of the situation. Quite a number
of these establishments were in one or an
other of the numerous paths made by the
tornado, and hearses, carriages and coffins
by the score were reduced to kindling.
Hence the demands upon those of the
mortuarians whose plants were in order
were doubled, and as a result there was
more or less confusion and painful an
noyance.
No pretense was made of observing a
time schedule, and in many cases the be
reaved relatives and mourners sat from
early morning until late in the day await
ing the coming of the funeral equipages.
Hearses did treble and quadruple duty,
the hearses being driven at breakneck
speed and returning to the devastated dis
tricts as rapidly as their loads had been
deposited at the door of Hie vault or by
the side of a grave. In several instances a
single hearse bore three caskets, one con
taining the remains of an adult and the
others those of little ones.
At tne graves the religious rites were
abbreviated and addresses of eulogy or
condolence were dispensed with. The in
terments in this city were divided between
Caivary. Bellelontaine. Saints Peter and
Paul, Picket and Hebrew cemeteries, the
two first named receiving the greatest num
MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES IN SAN FRANCISCO.
bers. Between 8 and 9 o'clock and 3:30
p. M. two processions passed over Grace
avenue, the thoroughfare leading to the
graveyard of Saints Peter and Paul-
Denominational lines were closed Up,
and there were times when the solemn
words of the committal service of Cath
olics and Episcopalians, Presbyterians and
Methodists, Baptists and Connregational
ists, German Lutherans, Unitarians and
Universalisis were being repeated in dif
ferent cemeteries at the same moment.
Each funeral had its concourse of mourn
ers, and many pathetic and heartrending
scenes were enacted as the mortal remains
of loved ones that but a comparatively
few hours asro cave promise of long and
useful lives were lowered to rest.
A quarter of a million people visited the
scenes of the disaster about aristocratic
Lafayette Park during the morning and
afternoon. At least a fifth of these were
strangers from points in Missouri and Illi
nois, who had taken advantage of the Na
tional holiday and the reduced railroad
rates to see for themselves the havoc that
the tornado had wrought.
The crowds were quiet, orderly and
sympathetic, and not a single case of pil
laging or disorderly conduct called lor
action on the part of the police authori
ties. Furniture-movers and'general team-
sters reaped a harvest in removing house
hold effects from the dismantled residences
in this section, $10, $15 and in some cases
as high as $20 a load being demanded and
paid without demnr. In those poorer
parts of the city where the force of the
disaster had also been felt the willing
ho arts and bands of the more fortunate
went out and were extended to their
stricken neighbors, and men, women and
children, sometimes at risk of limb and
life, aided in removing the humble con
tents of tottering houses and tenements to
a place o! safety.
The interments will be resumed to
morrow, and by nightfall it is expected
that all of the identified dead will have
been laid to rest. The unrecognized bodies
will be held until Tuesday, when such dis
position will be made of those not claimed
as the Coroner may direct.
Three of the principal real estate deal
ers in this city to-night stated to the
United Press that they figured that the
actual real estate loss in St. Louis would
not exceed $10,000,000. The damage to
household property, bric-a-brac, paint
ings, statuary, etc., will, however, swell
this amount nearly $12,000,000 more. The
loss in shade trees and ornamental shrub
bery is beyond computation. Lafayette
Park, for two decades the pride of the
aristocratic "French residents," is but a
memory. Not a tree is left standing in all
its brond domain, and it is surrounded by
a quadrojigle of demolished houses,
many of which can only be located by
the numbers on the adjoining houses that
escaped.
The following additions to roll of death
in this city were made to-day: Additional
dead in 8t Louis— William F. Anderson,
38 years, found in ruins at 606 South
Seventh street; AdolDh Goodman. Wil
Continued on Second Page.
KITE FIELD'S
SUDDEN DEATH
Succumbed to Pneumonia
While Visiting the Ha
waiian Islands.
MADE A NOTED RECORD.
As a Writer and Lecturer the
Talented Woman Attracted
Much Attention.
VERSED IN MANY SCIENCES.
Few Newspaper Workers Were Her
Equal in the Wide Field
of Journalism.
CHICAGO, 111., May 30.— Kate Field is
dead. The sad news was received this
evening in a cablegram reading as follows:
YOKOHAMA— Kohlsaat, Times- Herald, Chi
cago: Kate Field died May 19, Honolulu,
pneumonia. Thcrston.
The sender of the cablegram was the ex-
Minister from Hawaii to the United
States.
Miss Field was born in Ft. Louis in 1854.
Her father, Joseph M. Field, and her
mother, who was Eiiza Lapsley Riddle of
Philadelphia, were able to give her raro
educational advantages and through them
she inherited brilliancy and versatility,
her mother being a charming actress.
Kate was educated in Boston, Italy and
England and traveled all over the world.
She was essentially cosmopolitan.
After her classical education she gave
special attention to musical studies, be
coming a pupil of Garcia and William
Shakespeare, the English tenor. Bbc
made several lone visits to Europe, and
during her stay abroad became corre
SDondent of the New York Tribune, Phila
delphia Press and Chicago Tribune, be
sides doing work for periodicals.
In 1574 she appeared as an actress in
Booth's Theater, New York, where her
dramatic talent asserted itself. Since
leaving the stage she hns devoted
her talents and energies to lecturing and
journalism, in which she achieved the
greatest success. Among her published
works are: "Planchette's Diary," "Ade
laide Ristori," "Mad on Purpose" (a
comedy), "Pen Photographs of Charles
Dickens' Readings," "Haphazard," "Ten
Days in Spain," "History of Bell's Tele
phone."
She founded the National Review sev
eral years ago. and in 1890 began the pub
lication of her famous Kate Field's Wash-
I ington in the National capital. She
! remained the editor, publisher and sole
: owner of the ui.ique weekly publication,
the only one in the world which bore a
woman's name.
An attack of the grip in the winter of
iy<}-95 left her unfitted for her editorial
\ work, and on this account she was com-
I pelled to suspend publication of her paper
and travel for her health, doing occasional
lecturing and light journalistic work.
Last fall Miss Field was sent to the
Hawaiian Islands by the Times-Herald as
special correspondent, and was bo engaged
when removed by death.
During her visit in San Francisco, while
en route to the islands, Miss Field was
given her last public reception at the
Press Club. She was entertained by the
ladies engaged in active newspaper work
in the City, and the reception goes into
the history of the club as one of the notaDle
events held in its rooms.
SUNK AT A LAUNCHING.
One Man Drowned by the Capsizing of a
Pilot Boat After Leaving the
Ways.
NORFOLK, Va., May 30.— An accident
at the double launching at the Newport
News shipyard to-day caused the loss of
one life and the sinking of one of the steam
ers being launched.
In going down the ways the pilot boat
Smith was first. The blocks came from
under one side of her. turning her over on
her side. She went out into the water
about 200 feet and filling rapidly sank.
There were about thirty men aboard and
everybody but one man was saved by the
use of the boats. The Plant Line steamer
Margaret was successfully launched later
on.
CHARGED WITH GRAND LARCENY.
Arrest of John L White, Former President
and Treasurer of the White Loco
motive Works.
NEW YORK, N. V., May 30.— John L.
White, former president and treasurer of
the White Locomotive Works.wbose main
office is at BufFalo, N. V., was arrested last
nif-'ht charged with grand larceny and
lorgery to the extent of $80,000. To-day
he was arraigned and remanded until
Monday, when ne will be given a formal
examination. The arrest was caused by
the present president, Mr. McKenzie. and
involves transactions while Wliite was
president. The delay granted to-day was
at the instance of the prosecuting witness
PLEASURE BOATS UPSET.
Accidents JFolloteed 6y the Droteninff of
Several Persons.
NEW YORK, N. V., May 31.— The police
of Enst One Hundred ana Twelfth- street
station have just .earned at 1 o'clock that
a yacht with several people in it was up
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
set in the Kills late last night and that
several people in it were drowned. An
investigation is being made.
A steam launch which was filled with a
family party that had been out on a few
days'* pleasure cruise ran into one of the
buttresses of the Second-avenue bridge,
over the Harlem River, late last night and
was upset. Five of the party were rescued,
but two, Manol Wolfert and Kate Murray,
are missing.
Portugal's Good Office*.
LISBON, Pobtcgal, May 30.— The news
papers nere state that Portugal has offered
her good offices to Great Britain and Bra
zil to bring about a settlement of the dis
pute regarding the ownership of the island
of Trinidad.
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