The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-04

We quote from the Pal Mall Gazette the
following article, by an intelligent CORES
pondent of that paper
The general public are strongly inclined to
attribute all the manifestations of modern
Radicalism to the great French Revolution.
This is incorrect both as question of time
and origin. The role of France was here, as
in almost everything else, simply that of a
great populariZer; and the Revolution was
itself production, not a producer, of Radi-
calism. The Revolution would have been i'm
possible, had not the tendencies both of re-
igious and governmental Radicalism been
largely diffused already amongst the French;
whereas social Radicalism is in one sense
prior, in the other posterior, to the Revolu-
ton, during which there were only few
attempts to advance what is now understood
by socialistic or communistic reforms.
Firstly, it is well known that there were two
very distinct revolutions--that of 80 and
that of '93-in the former of which no COM
munistic attempts could have attained any
popularity, for it was revolution against
authority only, not against individualism.
Robespierre and Saint-Just were, indeed,
strongly inclined towards communistic prin-
cples; the fragments of Saint-Just prove
that he was decided partisan of the agra
rian Law" but all this did not prevent the
convention from decreeing capital punish
ment for the simple proposal of introducing
this law. All that was done in the way of attack
on the principle of property consisted of
few desultory and partial measures issued
under the desperate pressure of an armed mob.
The first thoroughly communistic attempt
was made under the Directory, and is known
as the Conjuration de Babeuf. Yet even
this attempt was but coarse naturalization
of doctrines elaborated before the Revolution
in Morelly's "Code de Ia Nature" Under the
Consulate, the Empire, and the Restoration
there was no display of communistic doctrines
at all, and it is not till Sths time of the July
Revolution that we see them not only well
established but forming three differentschools,
with disciples spread over the whole of
Europe. The first and most popular of these
was still the school of Babeuf, revived by
one of his old adopts, Buonarotti, who sue
ceeded in escaping prosecution, hid himself
for many years in Switzerland and Belgium,
returned to France at the fall of the Bour-
bons, and established secret society called
the Democratic Carbonari," where thousands
of working men listened to the descendant of
the celebrated Florentine master This
school, although less known now, was the
most influential then, for it acted immedi-
ately on the mass of the people; and France,
having at that time a great number
of German working men, communi-
CdlCu W OhAOuBh )uOhuIObtl, Iu6
first notions which produced afterwards the
so-called Social-Democrat movement in Ger
many. The two other schools were those of
Saint Simon and Charles Fourier.
The Con- duration of Babeuf was not only
the first, but the only tolerably consistent
modern attempt at social reform in France.
None of the subsequent French Socialists
differ substantially from Babeuf, while the
less coarse and seemingly more elaborated
forms in which they cast their doctrines make
them only less intelligible and less practi-
cable not less communistic Some of them
endeavor TO repudiate the name of Commu.
nists, and to gain for themselves what is
thought the less Objectionable name of Social.
lists; but none of them, except Fourier, have
! a right to do 30, as their doctrines equally
| lead to the abolition of individual property.
| On the other hand, the doctrines of Babeui
are highly interesting as showing the stagnancy
of Communism; its arguments, and even the
| forms of their expression, differing only very
slightly over a period of several hundreds OF
years. / have Intentionally quoted in my
second letter few lines from the doctrines OF
the Taborites to enable the reader to compare
them with doctrines which are four centuries
] older, and have been displayed in the Mani