The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1869-10-16

he General Council thought that the pecu.
iaf character Of the Rouen cOnAlc: w'uld
Dtir the English wOrkmen to acton. This
was great opportunity to shlw tie capi-
Ealists that the international in iu<trial var
fare, carried on by screwing wages down
nov in this country, now in InAt, would be
shocked at last BY the international union
ot the working classes. To our app al the
EoglisL worknen replied at once by frst
TO RoueD, and the London
Trades Council resolved to summon, 10
unison with the General Council, q metro
politan monster meeting on behalf Of their
Normand brethren. These proceedings
were stopped by the news Of the sudden
Of the Sotteville strike. The mis-
carriage Of that economical revolt was large
" compensated for by its moral results. IL
1t enlisted the Normand cOtton-workers into
the revolutionary army Of labor, it gave
rise to the birth of trades unions at Rouen,
Elboeuf, Darnetal "a the enviroOs, and 1t
sealed anew the boil of irateanity between
the English and French working classes.
"Durinp the winter and spring OF 1869
was paralysed consequent upon the violent
dissolution of our Paris section IN 1905, tue
police chicaneries IN the departments, and
the absorbing interest Of he French general
elections.
The elections once over, numerous strikes
exploded in the Loire mining districts, ~
Lyons, aud many other places rne
economical facts revealed during these
struggles between masters ami men struck
the public eye Ike so many diss living
views IT the high colored fancy pictures oil
working-class prosperity under the auspices
Of the second empire. The claims Of re-
dress on tho part of the workmen were OF 80
moderate character and so urgent nature
that, after some show Of angry resistance,
they hal to be conceded one AID all. The
only strange feature about those strikes was
their sudden explosion after seeming lull,
and the rauid succession IN which they fol
Iowed each other. Still the re ,S0n Of all
this was simple and palpable. Having, dur
ing the elections, successfully ried their
hands against their public despot, the work
men were naturally led to try them after the
elections against their private despots. 10
one word, the elections hal stirred their
animal spirits. The governmental press, OF
course, paid as it is to mistake and misin-
terpret unpleasant facts, traced these events
to a secret order from the London General
Council. which, they said, sent its emissaries
from place to place to teacn the otherwise
highly satisfied French workmen that It was
a bad thing to be overworked, underPaid
and brutally treated. A French police organ,
published at London-the InterOationale-
had condescended TO reveal 70 the world the
secret motives of our deleterious activity.
The strangest feature it says, is that the
strikes were ordered to break out in such
countries where misery is far from making
itself felt. These unexpected explosions oc-
curing so opportunely Tor certain neighbors
Of ours who had just to apprehend war,
makes many people ask themselves whether
these strikes took not p.acs on the request
of some foreign MachIaveili who had known
how TO win the good graces Of this all-pow-
erful association At the very moment
that this French police print impeached Us
Of embarrassing the French Government Oy
strikes at home in order to disembArrass
Count Bismark from war abroad, Prussian
paper accused US of harrassing the Northern
German Bund with strikes IN order to crush
German industry for the benefit OF fOrelgu
"The miners Of St. Etienne, RIve-de-
Giers, and Fumery had calmly, bat firmly,
requested the managers Of the mining CON.
panies to reduce the working day, number
ing twelve hours hard underground labor,
and revise the wages tariff Failing in their
attempt at a conclIiatory settlement, they
struck on the 18th Of June. For them il
was of course a vital question 70 secure the
cooper alton Of the miners that had not yet
turned out to combine with them. To pre-
vent this the managers Of the mining con-
panies requested and got from the Project Of
The Loire forest Of bayonets. On :hc
18th Of June the strikers found the coal pits
under strong military guard. To make
sure the zeal of the soldiers thus lent to
them by the Government, the mining com
panies paid each soldier a franc daily. The
sol Tiers paid the companies hack BY catch
ing, on the 10Th Of June, about 90 miners
eager to get at a conversation with their
brethren in the coaI-pits. These prisoners
were in the afternoon OF the same day es-
corted to ST. EtIenne by q detachment (l5O
meul Of the fourth regiment OF the line.
Before these stout warriors set out, an en-
gineer Of the Dorian mines distributed them
sixty bottles Of brandy, telling them At the
same time they ought TO have = sharp eye
on their prisoners gang, these miners being
savages, barbarians, ticket-Of-leave men.
What with the brandy aud what with the
sermon, a bloody collision was thus pre-
pared for. Followed on their march By a
crowd Of miners with their wives and child
rem, surrounded by them on a narrow de-
file on the heights Of the MOncel, Quarter
Oricamarie, requested to surrender the pris-
oners, attacked by a volley Of stones on
their refusal, the soldiers, without any pre-
limnary warning, fred with their chasse-
pots pel-mell in the crowd, killing fifteen
persons, amongst whom were two women
and an infant, and dangerously wounding 3
considerable number. The tortures OF the
wounded were horrible. One Of the suffer-
ers was a poor girl Of IL years, Jenny
Petit, whose name will live immortal In the
annals Of the working class martyrology
Struck by two balls from bshind, one Of
them rested in her leg, while the other
passed through her back, broke her arm,
and escaped through her right shoulder.
lie chasse-pot await encore fait mervelile.
"This time, however, the Government was
uOb lODX III uuuiuk Oub bnoe ivy A~'A NSAAA
mitted not only crime but a blunder. |
was not hailed as the savior Of society BY
the middle class. The whole munich pal
council of ST. Etienne rendered it's resigns-
ton in q document denouncIng the scoun-
drelism of the troops, and insisting upon
their removal from the town. The French
press wrung with cries Of horror. Even such
Conservative prints as the Noniteur Uaivsr-
vel opened subscriptions for the victims. The
Government had to remove the OdiOus regi-
ment from ST. Etenne.
Under such difficult circumstances, it was
q luminous idea to sacrifice on the altar OF
public indignation, a soapegoat always on
hand, the International Wor kingmen'S As
ISOLATION. At the Judicial trial OF the so
called rioters. the Act of Accusation divided
them into ten categOries, very lngeniOnsly
shading their respective darkness Of guilt.
The first class, the most deeply tinged one,
consisted of workmen more particularly sus-
pected to have obeyed some secret mot d.
e-oro .h.oaA Uiuan ont hU tho TnkaY.