Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-10-12
Publisher and Proprietor.
Victor Hugo's Letter to the Peace
Congress I'm swfi serland.


The honorary Presidency Of the Peace
Congress, which assembled at Lausanne
on the llth ultimo, having been con-
ferred on Victor Hugo, he sent the fol-
lowing letter:
"FELLow.C CITIZENS OF THE UNITED
STATES OF EUROPE: Permit me to give
you the name, for the European Federal
Republic is founded in rights, and in the
meantime is founded in fact. You ex-
ist; therefore she exists. lou prove 1t
hy your union, which outlines unity.
You are the commencement Of the grand
future. You confer on me the honorary
Presidency of yoar Congress, and ! am
profousdly touched by that act.
"Your Congress is more than an as
sembly of intellects; it is sort of COM
pilation committee of the future table Of
the land. An elite exists only because
there is a multitude. You are this elite
From the present you signify by law that
wsr is wrong; that murder, even glorious,
bonn bastic and royal, is infamy that hu-
man blood is precious; that lie is sacred.
That last war will be necessary, l am
assursdly not of those who say otherwise.
What will the war be? A war of con.
quest. What conquest is to be made 7
Liberty. The first want of man-his
chief right, his first duty-is liberty.
Civiliz alton tends invincibly to unity OF
language, of money, of measures, and the
fusion of nations in humanity, which is
the supreme unity. Concord has q syn
opym-simplification as wealth and life
have a synouym-circulation The first
of the servitudes is the frontier Who
SAYS frontier says ligsture. Cut the liga-
ture, efaos the frontier, remove the Gus
toms eficer, remove the soldier, ia other
words be free; peace follows. Thence
forth there will be profound peace; peace
made once for all inviolable peace the
normal state of labor, of exchange, Of
supply and demand, Of production and
of consumptiop, Of vast effort in common,
of the stirsction of the industries of the
90 aud come of ideas of the human aux
aud refux. i.
"Who has On interest In fFopters? ?
The kings divide to govern. A. frontier
indicates a sentry-box; q sentry box inn
plies soldier. No one can pass is
the password of all privileges, prohibit
tions ana iyrannies. From this frontier
from this ssntry-box-from this sol
dier, all human calamity pFoeesJs. The
king being the exception requires the
soldier to defend him; the soldier, in his
turn, must murder in order to hive.
Kings mas have armies; armies must
have war. Qther~isr their raison d
sfye ysnishes. 4 strange trtFg that
msu should consent to kin man Fithont
knowing Why, The sFt Of ihe despots Is
to divide the people and the srHE, 9ne-
bslf oppresses the other.
"Wsrs have all kinds Of pretexts, but
thew have hut one cause.-the army. Do
away with the army aud you do away
with wars. But how suppress the army !
By the suppression of despotisms- Low
ali supports itsslfi Abolish the parasites
ia their different forms-civil ilsis, paid
oilers. salaried clergy. pensioned msgls-
trates. aristo0ratic sinecures, gratuities
10 public edihces. standing armies.
Make this sweep and yoa sDdog kqrope
Eith $4,000, 900 600 per annun. Here,
by q stoke Of the pen, is the problem OF
misery simpli6ed. The thrones do not
wish this simpIihcation. They prefer for
ests of bayonets The kings only under
stand one poiut-perpetuate war. It's
believed that they are qusrreling,. bat not
entirely. They are assisting each other.
The soldier Kpst, / repeat, have his rea-
son Cor existence. Perpetuate the srmyi
perpelus;s despotism5 eScellent fero-
cious logic. Kings exhaps, the-E patient,
ne people. by bloodshed. There u ssaFhgp
J fraternity Of words, from Fhich results