The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-02-04

TO the EDITOR OF the W0nGInesAFb ADVOCATE
How fully he RepGb lican Govern
ment feels itself in harmony with the
immense majority Of the people is beet
shown by the unlimited liberty which
il allows TO those few wretched news
papers Frances, OOustst~tiOneI, Liberts,
etc. which are in the pay Of the Bour
bon, Oreanistic and Bonspartistic
usurpers, and by the moderation shown
in the squabbles with the socisIistlc
''hetspurs" Of Paris and Lyons. Only
the the consciousness Of strength can
act thus and / think the example now
set by the French Republic has no par
aleI in history. The 6rst French Re
public, which had to fight under cir
cumstances nearly as dissdvantsgeous,
made exertions nearly as gigantic. but
it had recourse to terroristic measures,
and oppressed liberty in order to save
it. Your great Commonwealth in its
tltantic struggle with the southern Bar
ons had no recourse to terroristic
measures, but & was never In such ex-
IRENE danger as the present French
Republic has been from the moment of
its birth up to the present hour And
do not recollect another case of ma
tiOnal rising to be compared in the
point of grandeur with the two Just
mentioned.
What different spectacle does Ger
many, victorious Germany, offer us At
present. Papers suppressed and for
hidden, an 1 those citizens that oppose
the policy of the Prus-isn Government
thrown into prison. Indeed, if the !
French Government, situated a. II i,
resOrted 10 such measures, We would |
not be sstOnished; but that the Prus-
sian Government-snd Of this alone |
we have to speak here, though it il
clever enough to have the work partly
done by s"me Of the minor govern
ments-but that p nseia, whose armies
have met with fabulous success and
are standing in the heart Of the che
-editary" enemy, considers it necessary
to proceed in this manner must be in
comprehensive to every one who
trusts in appearances aud regards this
war . national one on the part Of Ger
many, as w.r approved Of by our
whole people, q small minority except
ed The truth is, the war is not a ma
uonaI one; the enthusiasm, which ex-
isted up to Sedan, has totally evapOrs-
ted, in spite OF the iDflammsIOry arti
cles If the Government and bourgeois
press, the mass Of the people are sick
Of a war, which. as the dullest begin
-sgsnet 7drnruCrzcy ss.uNhAeAeg ..pF1ed
rr. well aware Of the impossih1iiy /"
destroy the French Republic. ana full,
sensible Of the fact that the II, public 4
in France means the downfall OF Yuun.
kerdom in Germany, zee their only
hance ~ p'Ol"nging the war and IL
sitting all resistance to this horIiLl,
shedding of blood.
And It is getting more horrible from
day TO day. War ''unfettertd the beast
IN man" the so-called ''law of ne
lions" has indeed cOntrived few
slender threads by which the "beast'
10 70 be directed and 10 some extent
controlled; but they do not stand the
test Of practice, and are, in the heat OF
The carnage, broken like so many SILK
ribbons by q maddened bull And
never, not even in the times Of The
wars with the frrt French Republic
aO1 tho &C. E-oroh U .,.,~ 49,. -
passions on both sides been dashed
INTO such demonisc fury ss AZ the pres
-nt. 1T is indeed but too true" Q
celebrated writer says, "rhat the taste
tor blood il taste which even men
not naturally cruel may by habit, speed
lily acquire" And when has there
heen mOre "habit" Of carnage than in
this war, which during the last two
months has brought q dozen great bat
lies, and at least hundred blood,
furnishes and minor fights, not t.
cOu' the innumerable collisions with
Franctireurs i am far from making
The common soldiers responsible for
the cruelties perpetrated ny them-the
lies at the door OF those
who are responsible for this war-and
| arm just as FIR from putting the who'll ,
blame on the Prussian civil and military
leaders, but it cannot be doubted thai
substantially the Memorial Of Chan
dOrdy~ is founded on truth. II has
been officially announced that the Pms
sian Government would publish refu
tatiOn, but, although there has been
ample time, this refutatiOn has not vel
appeared, and the tact that the organs {
OF the PrusAian Government, in order |
TO weaken the impression Of Chan 4
dordv's Memorial, have been obliged q
;" rake up the infamies committed BY '
he generals Of LOUIS XIV. and the Z
Napoleon, is an ample proof that they Z
are at loss TO bring similar ontraees
% humanity home to the new French i
Republic. That Louis XIV. and Ma 9
poleOn l. were heartless despots, rsnd }
execrable criminals, nobody will DENY, Q
but as the Frenchmen themselves have y
Knocked 70 pieces the throne Of LOUIS Il
XIV. and finally disposed IF The Napo-
comic Legend" It is the most ia q
grant injustice to charge them with v
leeds tor which they have made signal Il
ltonement. Well it would be for hu- r.
nanity, had all nations in like man Il
ler expiated the crimes Of their gov I
h
There are people even amongst those u
Who sympathize with the French RI y
public, that AMOUR i'll from the way in
which Gambetra treats the generals u
certainly it is rather delicate thing Ia q
interfere with the military action At = q
moment when all depends upon H. ,t
'lacaulay, while speaking Of Arr, le's $
Il-iSted expedition SAYS: n pre- y
tnl atives assemblies, public discus ri
ions, and all other checks BY wmch,n "a