New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-06-10
DUELLING ~ FRANCE.

DUELLING ~ France.
II was the first Napoleon who made the dry
remark that military ducls helped promotion,
and gave young officers Il chance to rise. So
intent are the Paris journalists, oil d and young,
upon killing one another, that the stupidcst
reporter must have ambitious moments when
he may dare to hope for an opening and a career
in an ovcrcrowdcd profession. Since the re-
cent duel near Geneva. the ink-h0rns have been
stopped up, and genius, rising or risen, has been
amusing itself with pistol and foil. Rochctort
owes his wound TO an open letter to the Project
of Police, published in one of the newspapers.
His son had returned from the Capital after re-
ccivng slight niuIics during the Communist
demonstration. The fiery Radical WAS en-
ragged He chose to assume thar the police Had
made a prcmedtatcd attack upon his son, aud
that the Project was entirely responsible for 1t.
In the course of the insulting letter which he
dispatched to Paris for immediate publication.
he inSnuaicd that he had 10 reason to expect
Justice of Il Government which suffered the
Projects brOthrr-n-llw to 20 unpublished alter
deliberately numbering a man in duel. The
brother-in-law at once set out for Switzerland
to cross swords with him. Before the meeting
could he arranged, Roc icforlS son had taken
offence at paragraph in the GdutOiS, ANA mad
challenged correspondent named Nllar The
latter was so unprofc>>ional as to Shirk the
responsibility for what he had written The
honor of the Journal WAS at STAKE, and the
Editor sprang into the gap. AS the son was
only a STRIPPING of seventeen, il would he all
surd TO challenge him, so the father received
proposals for meeting subsequent to his duel
with Kopchlin llOstilticS had now opened he
tween the GdulOiS and the Mot dOrtiTc, and
two members OF each staff had been chosen To
90 over the border and CLOSE the campaign.
Challenges also passed between the EdItors-a-
Chief The ethical force of so much hcro>m was
not lost npon the profession ut large. The Editor
Of the Voltaire was inspired 10 give member of
the Jockey Club as muci satisfaction as Inc
code of honor allowed, two country editors tad
most ENJOYABLE meeting III the South of France,
and even p0or-splucd Nar piucked up
enough courage TO send challenge to the Mot
erOrdre Office, and yesterday received the cut,
and saShcs of NJ LIE Pcllcticrs sword without
llinching.
The code of honor is Il tradition Of the mon
archy which has always been respected by
French Republicans. Parliamentary govern
ment has not diminished the number Of ducls.
Desmoulins, aud Bainayc had to fight, and
Danton aud Matat we've challenged UndeI
Louis Philippe when Gulzot was STRIVING to
import from England II constitutional system,
duclhng was the c0InnOucSt wee in public life.
Guizot himself, ThiClS, and LamaI,inc went
out in tuIn and deputies and Oul nalistS wee
called TO account almost daily for lndiacIclionS
III debate OF in pint. Tho second Republic
brought ne wspaprT ducls without number, and
sent Timers into the field a second time. Under
the thiId Empire, challenges were sent for the
most trivial cau,cs, and every journalist Of
established reputation was Il good SwuldSman
and Il "cI9lck shot" A journalist who lad
written playful paragraph about the excellent
appetite of sub licutCnantS ut small parties and
pirnics, received challenge upon challenge from
barfack and garrison town, and when he had
brought one OF these officers to the ground he
was attacked by his encmy's second, who in
sisted upon indicating the amy then and
there by running him Though. From that
moment all thr journalists i'll Fame" burned to
avengc the outage. and ducls between civ
ilians and lcutcnants became 50 frequent that
the Minister Of Wal was compelled to prohibit
them.
Under the third Republic the customs Of the
dutIlo hold their place in public esteem. De
CaSsagnac fought his fifteenth duel not long
ago, and nearly all the prominent leaders in the
Chambers have sanctioned by their example the
Old-timc code of honor. The present leader iof
The BonapartiSts would have more strength
with his party If he had not kept out Of the way
Of the Due dAumac when he was called out,
and DR.. ClemCnccau does not speak with less
authority because he Is the best swordsman in
the Chamber Of Deputies. Here is pmclirc
which has survived sixteen constitutions and
century of political revolutions. The old
weapOns-pistoIs, foils, ard swOrds--are still
in use, and all points Of etiquette are scrupu-
lousy observed. The retention Of 80 barbMOus
a custom is not an encouraging sign in the
public life of the young Republic. How
strange it seems that Republicans should be
pnking and sticking each other to-day pre-
ciscly as the arlstc Gratis used to do u hundred
years ago
LET Us HAVE 1N AUCTION