New-York tribune., 1886-03-23
FRENCH LABOR TROUBLES.
OPINIONS OF PRINCE KRAPorKINE.
@,usEs OF THE STRIKES OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
OF EMPLOYERS AND THEIR MEN,


fry CABLE TO THE TRBUNEJ
.,,, h,, me NORTH Arneriean cable Nescs Company
IoSpoS, March 22.-Prince krapothlhe' 'n0
,,,-snt SOCIALIST writes the following letter.
AIea 70 Give NV opinion OF the situation 10 france
. ,,oct,on with the Decazvle strike do IL the moro
,.iuipgly as in my opinon tho freheh press " ~
,.alized the full meaning OF this sIrlhe Vi 'no
.to situation OF which II is a symptom lho io"o
- ,aners even those which are least Iii s!iP"'"'
'"i'' ,,,. ,ravanoes wore almost unanimous ln
.,itti,g nat the explosion of popular anger "H
,1tad in the killing OF Watrin was provokeu ny 'n
creed ot the company, too well sefNeu Wy i'9 -.
engineer. by Its steady reduction OF wages i'S ~ ~
eo1 duet with regard to works undertaken W ~ ,' =.
ao,coment s attempts to mOnOpolize the suppyius VI
fool and other neccssarics TO miners, anu
tle conduct OF the engineers Natrlh anu i""'' -,
,oris,, and tteachery But while giving 50 huch
moro attention than usual TO local causes VI '
nocalyilIe revolt the press has oNeriooke" It's go"
,s,inc as one OF the many symptoms WHICH iIuS'i"'c
,be General state OF feeling among F1ehch miners anu
.p,cp Closely watching for several years inc l"ooI
movement in France. have been struck during tne "'
,rs with The acute character which trade disputes
o s,a5ually taking. There time about ten years
o,, when we used to say, strikes are louSht WIZ"
.,,,cs' lat time Is past Strikes now Sho" "''''i
,.ss that was formerly unknown They 1eNeM n'uon
anger on both sides, and they very o11eh result IA %
hreak directed not rs formerly against socael oach
,,d traitors b,t AGAINST managers and employers
ar their pIorcrty This change i7 very sgnifcant II
shows that the relations between labor and capai are
heconiDg worse and and 1t testlheS 10 'he ral
extcnson OF the spirit OF revolt among workmeh' Inc
outbreak at Decazville must thus he cons1ereu as
s,rilin, instance of the new character assumed ny
strikers generally.
a., for the French coal miners strike in the AveyIon
reyion if must he considered episode OF tho whoo
series of outbreaks which we have witnessed uuIhe 'o
last five years in the Moncoauune mines At Anzef !"
tne Garde and in fact in all the coal basins OF f"noo'
the ignorant may imagine that this agitation due 10
Socialists while the fact is it Is due first to the 7heer m
possibility the mneIs tc live on W"so'
and 70 support the continual ups and downs OF 'e III
dustal system that results in frequent stopP"soV VI
work. and second especially in the larger c'ai mhoS
and forges the kind OF feuda relations between men
and masters tending toward making man serf OF the
comrany not only in pecuniary but ID pohtlcai anu
religious matters. At MOnceauville mines, where Tue
strikers began twice in Lss2 to blow up the crosses
erected on highways by the company ana Sackeu d
church. this reyOlt-qu te OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES 'u'
result Of thorough discomfort with wages ana aIso
protest against the prOpIietorS attempt 10 ihhe ho"
selves rulers OF religious beliefs OF those whom hey Sa
their hands. Notwithstanding the heavy sentences
tben pronouucc against the arrested miners, the under
ground agitation still continued and soon resulted III
Ghictzlohs attempt 10 blow up the engineers mousse
Later on we had the great strike OF AuZer' which
awakened much sympathy III the trench press 'D"'
Emile IOa induced tO sleuu seNtI6 mohlo "'Vi1
tne miners ami TO his book, Gemlha' TO
The great sttuegle between the miners and employers
Durn. the strike at Auzer the excitement was so great
that owing efforts on the par; OF the leaders
were bloody outbreaks prevented About eighteen
months ago general strike very Dearly broke out IN an
the coal basins Of France both Northern and Southern
It was checked only by Of tile leaders who, eX-
n,ctiu. 70 he chosen Depuiies to the Assembly, dis
PLAYED much energy in subduing the agitation IN order
to show the boureeose that they were able to Keep
miners in legal waters.
As to tine recent Decazville outbreak, it is more
scnfcaut fom the fact that it had connection what
ever with any Socialist Propaganda friend OF mine
who went there as "a newspaper correspondent wrote
that when reporters asked the miners whether anarcst
emissarcs had visited them the miners asked what
anarchy might he. He adds that on the day when the
company posted it's famous provoking bil announcing
a further reduction Of wages ana the nomination OF
Blazy a. much hated Watrn to carry out the com
rspy's orders the crowd was much excited that
director Pecan would surely have been killed hut Tor
the Intervention OF those very Paris Deputies and
reporters who are accused OF having excited the
miners Finally there is lust now in the mines both in
the North aud the Loire 50 strong feeling OF d'coh
c' that II they not Yet strike II IS only because
tusy hope something will be done 10y te ruling classes
to amtli1rae ther condition. VIII the hope be long
maintained The peculiar condition OF AFFAIRS al
DccaLyilr where The mines fire since they have
been abandoned by the men, aud the prospect that the
mines may he bOnght by TIE state may strengthen
this hope but thce fast very few chances OF such
solution. aud the revision Of mining regulations VIII
certainly amcliorate nothing it must necessarily
dea only with details of small Importance NO serious
step for relief can expected r the ruling classes OF
France They understand only means o. getting out
OF the difficulty, namely, arrests and condemnation,
which they are now freely making use OF at Decaz-
vile. The agitation going there among the mluers
ought to by continued however only as an episode OF
tha agitation that is in progress among worknsmen III
al the industrial centres.
Never before Tas misery great In .he chief manu-
factuIiug tow rs among the peaSaniy Of some
part, OF the country. Al the region about Lyons Is
suffering la !ly and when see what Is going on there
conuot ht wonder the patience OF those who SUPP ot
this misery Their patience be explained only by
the tact that this black misery las crept IN slowly day
by day. gradually taking the backbone out Of the
sufferers. Had it broken Oat suddenly it would have
provoked usuuoction like that Of 1881. 1t is sufficient
% siy 1at al Lyons soldiers OF the poorly
paid tGcy are in France, share their bread with the
starving wofkngmen Il must bc remembered, how
ever that this crisis Is not a transient which might
BE- expected soon to change Tor the better; 1t j. the
result Of the system OF production which is altogether
false aud must he thoroughly rccOnsti ucted. We're the
ruling casses OF the gravity OF the situation and
ready 70 take a departure, the modification which
has become unavoidable might be accomplished with
few conmotious they do rise to the height OF
the situation ard modification will therefore necessarily
30 accomplished from below and in a revolutionary
way"
BIRTHDAY OF THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY.
BERLIN, March 22.-Ihe Emperor Williams
ompcte restoration health is ascribed to the warm
weather now prevailing To-day is the eghty-nnth an