The Labor enquirer., 1885-04-11
PRICE FIVE CENTS
The COMMUNE !.
Theirs Driven Out Of Paris by
Force Of Contempt Rather
than by Act Of Violence.
For Once Soldiers Showed that it
Formed No Part of their Duty
to Fire on Women. 5,;fss 5H,s

- i
! Workingmen For the First Time Ac.
complished q Revolution of Labor
E By and For Labsr.
The anniversary of the Paris COM
mune can never be passed in silence by
Socialists, whatever their nationality.
It was on March Is, 1871, that the gov
ernment of M. Thiers was driven out of
Paris by the force of public contempt,
rather than by any act of violence. Two
generals, it is true, had been lynched by
an irresponsible mob, consisting, in great
measure, of provincial soldiers and not
of Parisians; but this was the only
blood split on that memorable day, For
once soldiers showed to the world that
it formed no part of their duties 10 fire
upon unarmed women and children.
Some hours after this act of popular JUS
tice, the central committee of the Ma
tional Guard was prevailed upon to
assume temporarily the government of
the capital. Four days later the Com
mune was elected. Never had 80 many
electors pressed round the urns; and
yet our capitalist press was taken en-
tirely by surprise, and "our own Paris
correspondents" had no knowledge what
soever of the men who were carried at
the head of the poll with from $4,000
to 10000 votes each. As Cluseret de-
clared in one of his official proclama-
tions; Workers, you have for the first
time accomplished revolution of labor
by and for labor. Do not let US deny or
be ashamed of our origin. .Workmen
We were, workmen we are. and workmen
we will remain. 1t is in the name of
virtue against vice, of duty against abuse
of authority, of honesty against corrup-
ton that we have triumphed"
But working class leaders are not to
be met on the steps of the Grand Hotel
or at the embassy balls, 30 "our own
correspondents" knew nothing about
them, and were dumbfounded when
they saw that simple bronze.chaser
like Theisy obtained 14,661 votes, the
iron worker Asst, $3.50 votes; Avrial,
of the International, 1894 and the
hero and martyr, fresh from the penal
colony of Cayenne, Delescluze, 2O,264
votes. These votes were of course only
district votes, and there are twenty-five
districts or ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN Paris. On
the following twenty-frst day of May, by
an act of treachery, the Versailles troops
succeeded in securing one of the gates of
Paris, and then followed the seven days
street fighting, and the execution in cold
blood, without trial, without investlga-
ton, of thousands of helpless prisoners,
including large number of women.
The bourgeoise weltered in the blood
of the proletariat. Yet in England the
principal thing that we heard of was, the
massacre of the hostages by the Com
mune. False accusations of this descrip-
ton have done so much to injure the
workmans cause throughout the world,
that we cannot more usefully commemo-
rate the anniversary of the Commune
than by reminding our readers that the
Lecomte and Thomas were shot, and
that the Commune had ceased to exist
when the Archbishop of Paris and his
fellow priests were butchered in the
prison of La Roquette. The laws on
hostages as promulgated by the Com
mune, is the most humane law that has
ever been issued by any authority in
time of war; and no order was ever
given by the Commune to shoot the
priests The treachery and revolving
barbarity of the Versailles government
fully justified such retaliation but as
matter of fact, it was not attempted by
the Commune. The hostages were
lynched bv mob after the Commune
had been formally dissolved, and this
mob is stated, on very good circumstan-
tial evidence to have been egged on by
ex-Imperlal policemen in disguise. Here
in England, it is essential to bear these
facts in mind 80 as to efface the false i'm
pressions deliberately fostered by the
capitalist press.
Never had there been so much order,
80 much freedom, 80 complete an ab-
sence of crime, as when the working
classes of Paris held the reins of govern
Eent This was acknowledged even by
English Conservatives who were in the
city during the Commune. The mere
fact that the government of that vast
city with its two million inhabitants
was managed, under the most trying
circumstances by common workmen"
was a revolution which shook the whole
world to its foundation. In spite of the
reaction which followed on the Com
mune's suppression, labor movement
and labor party was forthwith formed
in every country and has developed into
the great international Socialist agita-
ton, that is now menacing every throne.
threatening to destroy all class domina-
} ton, and promises at length to give to
the producer the full fruits of his toll.
SMITH