The Italian Hall Disaster (sometimes referred to as the 1913 Massacre) was a tragedy that occurred on December 24, 1913, in Calumet, Michigan. Seventy-three men, women, and children, mostly striking mine workers and their families, were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely shouted \"fire\" at a crowded Christmas party.
Название «Итальянский зал» носило трёхэтажное здание, находившееся в городке Калумет-Сити (штат Мичиган). 25 декабря 1913 года здесь случилась трагедия, о которой помнят до сих пор. Ещё в начале декабря местные шахтёры устроили в Итальянском зале забастовку, требуя повышения зарплаты. На Рождество в здание пришли их родственники, желавшие поздравить своих отцов и мужей с праздником. Но около 18 часов в Итальянский зал вбежал незнакомец, закричавший: «Пожар!». Почти 700 человек мгновенно ринулись к крутой лестнице, пытаясь спастись. К сожалению, кто-то споткнулся и упал, тем самым спровоцировав цепную реакцию. В итоге лестничный проём, служивший единственным выходом из здания, оказался заблокированным. В действительности же никакого пожара в здании не было. Неизвестно, была это глупая шутка или осознанная провокация. Но в образовавшейся давке погибло 73 человека.
1913 Massacre (Jack Elliott)
Take a trip with me in 1913 To Calumet, Michigan, in the copper country I'll take you to a place called Italian Hall And the miners are having their big Christmas Ball
I'll take you in a door and up a high stairs Singing and dancing is heard everywhere I'll let you shake hands with the people you see And watch the kids dance round that big Christmas tree
There's talking and laughing and songs in the air And the spirit of Christmas is there everywhere Before you know it, you're friends with us all And you're dancing around and around in the hall
You ask about work and you ask about pay They'll tell you that they make less than a dollar a day Working the copper claims, risking their lives So it's fun to spend Christmas with children and wives
Hey, little girl sits down by the Christmas tree lights To play the piano, so you gotta keep quiet To hear all this fun you would not realize That the copper boss thug men are milling outside
The copper boss thugs stuck their heads in the door One of them yelled and he screamed, \"There's a fire\" A lady, she hollered, \"There's no such a thing Keep on with your party, there's no such a thing\"
A few people rushed and it's only a few \"It's just the thugs and the scabs fooling you\" A man grabbed his daughter and he carried her down But the thugs held the door and he could not get out
And then others followed, a hundred or more But most everybody remained on the floor The gun thugs they laughed at their murderous joke And the children were smothered on the stairs by the door
Such a terrible sight I never did see We carried our children back up to their tree The scabs outside still laughed at their spree And the children that died there were seventy three
The piano played a slow funeral tune And the town was lit up by a cold Christmas moon The parents they cried and the miners they moaned \"See what your greed for money has done\"