The Labor enquirer., 1888-03-24

troops, and after the Commune
had laid down their arms, tn
streets Of Paris ran red with tn,
blood of the proletaire. Age, Sc,
nor condition were spared ant
10000 men. women and childrel
we're mercilessly slaughtered il
the streets of Paris simply to graf
ify the revengefuI spirit of thu
aristocracy." ea
The colonel hoped such scene.
would never again be witnessed
but the signs Of the times seemed
to point in the direction of an at
tempted repetition of those hor
rors by the governing class anc
Those who live in luxury off the
labor Of the poor. Times had
changed since II. in modes o.
warfare, and If the horrors oi
Paris are again forced upon the
people then the latter must meet
the murderers with their own OF
better weapons. The cruel, cold
blooded slaughter of the working
men of Paris has never been and
will never be forgotten by the
workers of every land. From the
red tide that deluged the streets
of Paris has flowed down and will
continue to flow down a sentim ent
which must result finally in the
unihcation of humanity the world
over. Men are studying. Social
ism and communism are being
discussed. Those who oppose the
people in their endeavors after
light are in opposition for the
same reasons that the Ephesian
idol-makers opposed those who
sought to teach the fallacy of
worshiping brazen idols-because
their trade and craft was in
danger.
The lecturer said nature, it was
evident, when she created man
with certain desires, made pro-
visions for the qualification of
those desires, hence it followed
that the present desire of mankind
for fuller freedom in every way
must eventually be grati6ed.
Taking some of the pat biblical
quotations which are contorted
and used by the modern preacher
to blindfold and mislead his dupes,
the colonel threw much of the
light of common sense into pas
sages which have been obscured
by the clouds of priestly supersti-
tion and criminal misconstruction.
The kingdom Of heaven" which
the bible speaks of and priests and
preachers talk so knowingly of,
and as being away off in the un-
known beyond, would be realized
yet on this earth, when men be-
came better aud more brotherly,
1t was often said by the enc
mics of progress that it was i'm
possible to be Christian and at
the same time a communist or a
socialist, but that was utterly un-
true as the doctrine preached by
Jesus Christ was purely commu-
nistic; consequently those who
embraced communism or even So
cialism were drawing closer to
real Christianity. Priests and
ministers of to-day are the special
pleaders for the rich and their
worship of God consists in paying
homage before the brazen image
of the golden calf. These state
ments were not made in spirit oi
hatred or by a man who desired
aught but good to follow his
words. He had preached in a
Christian pulpit, and had studied
the scriptures for forty-five years
Had come to the conclusion that
salvation for the race lay not in
pulpits where the doctrine of hu'
\ man brotherhood is not dared te
be preached. .
Referring briefly to the monop
olization of natures gifts, the
speaker said that air, sunshine ane
water we're admitted as necessa
rilv free but that land also was in
tended by nature to be fully a
free to mankind. and that he wh'
has the power to take the land ant
prevent men from using it was a
much a murderer as he who cc'ul,