Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-01-04
ALEADER IN SPITE OF HIMSELF
Lonis BIanc'- involuntary Part in
tin Rising OF the 18TH of May, 1915.

Lonis BIanc'- involuntary Part in
tin Kissing OF the 18th of May. 1918.
A Paris letter to the New York
World says: The most instructive
moment for the student of Louis
Blanc's life is the 10Th of May, 1848,
when the mob Of Paris swept across the
capital second time, invaded the
chamber, and nearly put an end to all
| government III France. This was done
IN spite of Louis Blanc, who had hor-
ror of mob violence. He was carried
in spite of himself to the Hotel de Vile
and made a member of the new pro-
vi5ional government, yet he was tried
and prosecuted as the leader of the con-
spiracy, and he had to fly to England
| for his liberty, if not for his life. His
writing had provoked the instruction
without design on his part. He hoped
! that the time had come when the phil
osophers might reason their way to the
emancipation of peoples. The crowd
| looked on his reasonings as so many
inscentiyes to fight; when he was q
man of thought they thought him most
a man of action, and they swept across
Paris to the doors Of the assembly in
the hope of finding there, in the terri
J fed and Disguised deputy, the Bona
( part of the socalistic movement. This
is of interest, not because it points the
vulgar moral against doing anything
for the people, but because it shows
those WHO work for the people what
they may be called upon to do. They
should understand that with the peo-
| pie though means action. and should
hold themselves ready to act at mo-
ments notice. There is something at
once ludicrous and path etc in
the helplessness of Louis Blanc
in the face of that colossal dem
onstration and in the fateful character
of the whole thing, the people them
selves not quite knowing what they
wanted when they marched through
Paris, tut believing that they would
find some one at the assembly who
could tell them, and the assembly be
ing so emphatically in the same pre-
dicament that it could find nothing bet
ter to do than quietly dissolve itself.
Here is Louis Blanc's account of this
most decisive day in his life and in the
life of the republic of IS 1t settled
the republics fate. When they tried
Ito demonstrate again 3 month later
Cavignac used his guns and put them
down with frightful slaughter, and soon
after Louis Napoleon came in and held
them down. They had made his task
as savior of society easy by giving
a society to save.
As it is pictured here, the mob is in
It's merry spriDgtime of revolt, with a
full belief in the efficacy Of demon
! strations:" and with no thought that
such amusements have their next
morning, like any other debauch. The
, account shows the cruel injustice OF
the assembly in making Louis Blanc
responsible for this rising. He was
! condemned rs an instigator, when it is
only too clear that he should have been
pitied as the greatest victim of all-foI
: his personal safety and political credit
: were both st stake.
con the 15h of May" he says, ]
set out at the usual time for the assem-
q blv. where ! used to sit beside Barbes
As soon as / saw him ! told him there
e was n great deal Of animation on the
: boulevard, that the people were march.
. ing down in regular columns. 'Ah
my friend, he said its all over with
\ the republic, am afraid The ex
q cuse for this particular demonstration
was sympathy in fact with oppressed
1 nationshties. The French were, as
usual, holding out the hand to the
/, whole human race before they We're
{ sure that they had q good footholt
g themselves. With these thousands
looming down The boulevard shouting
Poland and Italy and Irelaud-for Ire.
r land was in tit was obviously the
e best thing TO do to anticipate them by
beginning to talk about Poland in the
chamber. "M Walowski got into tn,
0 tribune and began a speech about Po
land, when a distant roar announced
{ the arrival of the crowd, and one O
the questors came in excitedly TO tel
/ us tina, the Guard Mobile had sheathec
{ beyonets ana that the assembly was tC
j. be invaded. Whist many OF Us hac
: feared had happened-thc crowd whicr
started AS a river had become a torrent
, Gen. Courtais had gone as far as th,
, Madeleine to meet them, and has
. promised to allow s few delegates X
pass into the assembly, aud that wai
All that the really honest men in TIA,
movement wsnted-but there wer,
/ other men besides. The crowd poured