Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-06-23
FRENCH PROGRE
SOClAlISTlC ACTION BY THE
COUNCIL OF THE SEINE,
The Peoples Representatives Express.
ing the Sentiments Of Their
Constituents RumOrs of
Violent Changes.
The Socialists.

Socialist ideas are permeating the
various departments of the French
government. One by one old laws
are giving place to new ones and
they are in the line of progress.
Even the Boulangst movement was
an indication that at least one man
had some sort of idea of what was
IN the wind and proposed to take
advantage Of public sentiment for
his own personal advancement. 1t
may or may not be of particular mo.
ment whether the ruling class see
the drift of events and the effect it
may have upon them. A corre-
spondent Of the New York SIN, for
instance, says that the blindness of
the government is an interesting
and strange element in French
politics, meaning that movements
are being carried on for the purpose
of overturning the government with
out its knowledge, or at least with
out any interference on it's part. He
refers to the Royalist and Monarchist,
to the Boulangist and what he calls
the Radical movements. While the
French government may be blind,
the subdepartments are not all blind,
for it is reported that the General
Council of the Seine has passed the
following resolutions:
1t is expedient to effect within the
brietest possible delay the revision Of.
the constitutional laws through the
agency of the Assembly specially elected
for that purpose, The revision is to in
volve, first, the suppression of the Presi-
dency of the Republic; secondly, the
election of a single chamber, having
power to appoint and dismiss the Ex.
ecutive; thirdly, the extension of the
power of local assemblies, such as gen
eral and municipal councils, the most
etfectual means of obviating the danger
of concentrating power in the hands Of
a single Assembly; lastly, as a merely
political enactment cannot stipulate
economic guarantees, the preamble of
the new constitution should comprise a
fresh declaration of the rights of man,
laying down the Socialist doctrine that
the laborer as the producer shall be
entitled to receive the full value of the
work he produces.
And the special correspondent of
several capitalist papers says that this
council represents perfectly tho feel
ing of the masses of Paris, but he
seems to regret that the government
pays no attention to the warning
which these resolutions imply.
Restless rumorlsts say that a violent
change is imminent. Meanwhile
the Socialist Party continues to
spread its doctrines among the
workers, and those doctrines are
certain y not calculated to produce
violent changes, though it may be
that they will be in force after the
changes are made, whether they be
violent or otherwise, for the Social
lists will not hold themselves re-
sponsble for the violent part of it,
however good they may be at fight
ing when compelled. But to talk of
violence with an undisci plined mob
on one side, and disciplined preto-
rians on the other, seems nonsense
on the part of the unorganized. Of
course, the other side practices vio-
lence continually.
There are many organizations of
the dissatisfied in Paris, but they
are not unit on constructive So
cialism, and while all the various
groups may heartily hate the bOur-
geotse government, they are not
united on program. Such unity
will hardly come without the force
Of experience, and perhaps the waste
OF much energy on side issues. But
all this will be educational, and when
they can unite upon a program, re-
cent occurrences show that the So
cialist movement will eventually sue
ceed.
In the resolutions passed by the
Council of the Seine we find CON-