Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-11-25
THE RED TERROR IN PARIS.
Correspondence London Times. I

Correspondence London Times
PARIS, Nov. 1.-The news which W. receive
from the provinces in regard 10 the late ele Ons
for the Conseils Generaux Is OF a strange and
significant character. Not only, wonld il appear,
is the Extreme party lifting its head once more,
but doing 30 with an air OF menace which
frightens the timd peasant, and still more cow
ardiy bourgeois, from the polling booths. Not
merely in the great cities, but in the small towns
and even villages, are to be found knots OF de-
termined Socialists, more or less pronounced
IN their opinions and modes of expressing them,
who do not. IL is true, dare 10 proceed to
acts OF violence, but against whose wishes the
bourgeoise do not venture to vote, from an alb
sract fear of the consequences which might
arise If, some day, this much dreaded class came
again to the surface. 1t is impossible for per-
sons accustomed to speak and vote freely, and
To use their fists in cases of emergency, to form
any idea of the political pusillanimty OF the
French middle class or rural voter. few de-
termlned radicals in each political section
could prevent the whole population from voting,
or force them to vote as they directed; and this
Is the reason why the government have to
take measures to protect the electors; but, on
the other hand, the presence of troops round
the urns is a pretty broad hint to the popula-
ton, or at least the latter take il as one, that
they are expected to vote in the direction from
which their protection comes; so that to expect
TO know by their votes what the political
opinions of nation whose leading charac terls-
TIC is fear, seems utterly hopeless. Meantime,
the prisoners, who arrive daily from the hulks,
are under no delusion as to the respect with
which their character for ferocity invests them.
The change is already apparent in the attitude
OF the working population OF Paris The cOwed
and timid aspect which they exhibited imme-
diately after the suppression OF the commune
has left them; they revel in the nOtorety
which their sanguinary deeds have secured for
them, and are not afraid to threaten the middle
classes with n recurrence of the months of
April and May in a still more bloody form
IL Is sufhcient TO converse with the employers OF
labor on large scale to obtain confirmation Of
these facts. ] hear from one OF them who en-
plOys fifteen hundred hands at BelIeville that
the 1nsoience of his men is becoming intOlerable
Out OF those in the employ of this gentlemen
seventy were shot during the DAYS of the COM
mune, and two hundred sent as prisoners To the
hulks. The greater part of these have returned
and do not attempt to restrain their feelings or
conceal their determination to be revenged on
the wealthy classes. The fact that they have not
done stroke of work since August of last year
has completely untitled them for a return to
honest labor. They have been accustomed to
their thirty sous day during the first siege, the
riot and independence of the commune during
the second, and to the idleness and grumbling
Of their prison life since, that their only anxiety
is how taey may get money without working for
III; ana my informant, who himself began life
as an advanced radical, having a good deal to
lose whenever the threatened revenge occurs,
does not hesitate to express his regret that all
his hands had not been shot. This solution
would necessarily have caused him inconve-
nicnce, but the alternative, which he already
only escaped by q miracle, is that of being
shot himself and his works falling a prey to
his workmen. Numbers OF the leading
communists are now at large in their old
haunts, having defied capture hitherto. and
feeling that they may safely expose themselves
without fear of the police. The leniency of the
government is attributed to weakness, while the
terocity of the troops during the last week of
May, and the numbers of innocent persons shot,
have exasperated many who were not commun-
lists at the beginning. Altogether, SO far from
being discouraged by what has happened, they
look back to the two months when they unex-
pectedly found themselves in possession of Paris,
and holding the whole regular army of the
nation at bay, with pride and satisfaction; and
the Emperor himself could not speak with
greater confidence of his return TO the throne
than do these roughs of Bellevilie and Mont
martre of the return of the commune.