THE MADNESS OF CROWDS

Grey River Argus, 10 April 1911, Page 1

THE MADNESS OF CROWDS

The riot at the Snow Ground at Sydney ten days, ago, of .which we had word by cable, emphasised the well-known fact that men, will do things in a crowd that . they do not dream of doing;, toy -themselves.- • Also it showed that extraordinary, surprises <;ta cccur in the amusement .business. The buck-jumping show that was the attractibn on this particular afternoon, had 'been extensively advertised, )Jut no one, the showman > least of all,, expected a very large crowd. The police anticipated an attendance of from five to eight thousand, and made' arrangements accordingly, ".but, to everyone's astonishment some 60,000 or 70,000 people turned up. The tramway people thought eight special cars would be sufficient, but they had to put on some 200 to bring ithe people home. Trouble began when this 'great crowd found that the arrangements at the ■ gal "si were quite inadequate for' such a number. They' struggled into the ground, many without paying, filled the seats, and took charge of the oval. Thousands, of people rushed excitedly 'backwards and forwards across the ground, ready for mischief. Some tormented the cattle that were had these beasts careering madly , to be used in the. exhibition, find round the ring. iSome even caught the animals by the tails, and allowed» themselves to be dragged along the* ground. A new stand' was being built, i.vi as it-Vas not considered safe, 'ii number of the contractor's me 1 1 »vc»rc .on duty to in event the people climbing- on it. lor a time these guardians were successful, but a large section of the crowd had lost its head, and it yas nqt long before a fierce attack was being made on the stand with pieces of brick and wood. Those in ''charge had to y ive way before the shower of missiles, and immediately /the crowd swauned on to 'the structure. Most of the people were simply drunk with excitemi'iit. iWell-dressed men, who hn.l piobably been decent citizens .111 hour, before, behaved like savages. Three rioters chased one of the contractor's men from one end of the stand to other, pelted him with missiles, and called him disgusting names The explanation seems to be that tempers were aroused by the scrambles at the gates, and those of latecomers irritated still more by finding all seats occupied. A few people started to behave in a disorderly fash ion, and a species of madness seized the mass. . The ' moral, r . is that crowds of that size require careful handling from the outset, and should be kept in a good temper. •