The Labor enquirer., 1886-03-27
livelihood. and the streets Of Paris uike

l u ?
the streets and highways of our own
country to-day we're filled with people
begging an opportunity to work. The
government was appealed to in vain; it
would do nothing to alleviate the awful
distress that was prevalent and the peo-
pie began to realize that the then exist
ing institutions would not and could not
help them. Then the ranks of the Com
munists swelled with wonderful
growth. We 10 asNF
As-stasea in the opening ssatsneesef
thisaadrsss, upon the the eighteenth of
| March Theirs and his government were
driven by the outraged populace from
the city and established itself at Yer
sailles; and the Executive Committee of
the National Guard took control until
an election could be held in regular
form. CThe National Guards we're com
posed of the civilians of the city, chiefly
business men, but had also in its ranks
many artisans and laborers. 1t was en-
tirely independent of the government
troops and in sympathy at all tines with
the perple, and it was with their full
consent that the National Guards as
sumed control of the city during the
time intervening between the driving
out of Theirs and his government and
the election.) The election occurred on
the twenty-second and resulted in
grand victory for the Commune. Never
had 80 many electors pressed around the
urn, and vet our capitalistic press was
taken entirely by surprise, and sour
own Paris correspondent had no know
ledge whatever of the men who were
carried at the head of the poll by from
1900 to 2O,OOOtvotes. As Cluseret de-
clares: Workers, you have for the first
time accomplished Revolution of
labor, by labor 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 virrue against vice, of duty
against abuse of authority, of honesty
against corruption that we have tri-
umphed," - .,-.-.-4:- s~f--.-'>~
But working class leaders are not to
be found upon the steps of the Grand
hotel, or at the Embassy balls, and so
"our oan correspondents" new nothing
about them, and were dumbfounded
when they saw that simple bronze
chaser like Theis7 obtained 14,661
votes; the iron-worker, Asst 1880
votes; Ayrial, of the International
Workmen's Association, 1894 votes.
and Delescluze, the hero and martyr,
fresh from the penal colony of Cayenne,
2O,264 votes. These votes Of course
were only district votes, and there were
twenty-five districts in Paris.
The Commune exi3ted just five weeks.
The Versailles troops, by an act of
treach cry, gained one Of the gates of the
city and entered it, bent on blood.
(Authorities differ as to the length of
time which the Commune existed. some
say that it was not dissolved until the
twentv-frst of May but in. giving the
time of its duration include from the
twenty second of March, the time of
election, until the ent ance of the Yer,
sailles troops. I may be wrong by a few
days, but tits immaterials in this ad-
dress.) Seven days ofthe most horrible
street fighting followed, in which 10000
of the workingmen of France were bru-
tally butchered. 4o-need to tell again
of the barricades they were erected
once more with the same devotion and
skill as in '9S, '32 ahd '4s and defended
with the grandest heroism and sacrifice
that man has eve pr witnessed. This
time the people of France knew what
| they were fighting for; knew what they
desired to destroy as we'll as what they
wished to preserve and to inaugurate.
The previous revolts had been, SO far
as the masses we're concerned, compare
lively aimless that is, outside of q few
leaders, who were students, the assault
ers of existing institutions had but one
aim-the overthrow of the despotisms,
which they innately understood to be
the cause of their miseries. 1t is true,
there we're some among the revolters
who, emulating the ideas of the Ameri-
can colonists, aimed at a republic for
France; but what could be the result
unless the people had some definite aim
however limited :? History teaches us
that revolts which had no well-defned
aim were not successful even for short
time. So the Commune, which knew
what it required and wished was sue.
cessful during its reign, and no intelli'
gent man can deny that it would have
perfected the grandest, most humane
system of society, had it not been over.
powered by organized greed and the
hired miniens5 of tyranny, just as it began
to show to the world it's potency and
sublimity. But the Commune succumbed
: to superior physical force, Theirs once
more entered the city and took control.
Then followed the brutal executions in
f cold blood, without trial. without inyes'
) tigation, of thousands of helpless pris'
: oners, many Of whom were women and
children. The a-istocrat weltsred in the
blood of the proletariat. Here+yiella K
a-tsmptAtincn tg-repeat an -actuss Incl