Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-02-12
WHAT THEN?
The Social Revolution Achieved.

Prom Leisure Hours
IL was the evening OF the last Of the terrible
days Of the social war in Paris The smoke of
the fusilades still lowered over the roofs of the
houses For three long days the little soldiers
OF the line and the ouvriers of the faubourgs
had been engaged in mortal combat and the
dead bodies Of one and the other now lay
peaceably side by side.
But this time 1T was the people that had con-
quered. The palaces, the government Offices,
the Hotel de Vile, the Bank of France-all
public buildings were in their hands. Capt.
talists, proprietors. masters, merchants, shop
keepers had disappeared; many killed in the
conflict, others massacred in cold blood, and
those who were not in cOncealment had fled
from the doomed CITY.
The remnant OF the troops. unable to cope
with the vast hosts of their assaiants, had been
withdrawn beyond the barriers. In the de-
serted streets and the empty mansions one
could only see groups OF grimy workmen.
mostly excited with drink. but some of them
talking together with bated breath. as if under
some vague fear from their very triumph.
had mounted to my bachelor lodging in a
quiet suburb, and was just going to sit down to
my evening meal, when there was loud knock
at the door, and, before could open, beheld
three workingmen enter. The oldest of them,
who had a venerable beard. handed to me an
order from the Social Commune" assigning
to them a lodging in nv apartment.
For tonight" 1 asked the bearer of the
paper.
mo. he calmly replied. for d permanence. !"
Then. seeing that thus announcement made me
dumb with amazement he added, The Social
Commune has had prepared statistical record
OF apartments, and as the rich have too great
accommodation, and the poor too little. it has
been arranged that each person shall have
right to place. You have four rooms, and
You live alone. Therefore you must give lodg-
lnss to three persons, my two comrades and
myself"
There was nothing to say in respect to this
arlthmetical statement. A scruple, however,
my rent" said 1; ''will.you pay three-quar-
tiers of il alsoI'
Don't trouble yourself about that, citizen"
said the man who appeared to be the leader.
There will be NO longer any rents TO pay.
Rents. hirings. interest for nroney-aH that is
suppressed and abolished from this day hence
FORTH
"Ah, then. / see," said /. that the benefits
of the social revolution reach even to me.
Make yourselves at home. fellow-citizens; and
your requisition, expect. imposes on me
the obligation of boarding as well as lodging
yon. if you will share my supper invite you
willingly"
They needed no pressing. and as had met
them from the first in as pleasant a way as
could assume, they soon relaxed their severe
aspect. and, after drinking some OF nv wine.
they began TO be even merry. thought that
might. therefore, enter into more close con-
versation with my new companions.
You ought to be satisfied / said to them;
here Is the social revolution accomplished.
Nothing of the old system of society is left
standing. What will You do tomorrow
Nothing, answered the youngest of the
three; I'VE shall do nothing tomorrow, and
not more on the days following"
And upon what viii you live. them" said l.
''Ah, bah! Why at the bank of France we
have more than two milliards two thousand
million francs-S0, 0OO. 900 pounds sterling) and
then there is everything in the houses, ware
houses, shops, cellars, granaries and every
where. Everything belongs to the people
food, drink. clOthing-for it was the working
class that produced all these riches. In taking
them we only take back what is our own"
Iappeared to listen with great attention and
courtesy, and when he had finished said:
But all this would not last very long among
so many. The two milliards in the bank of
France, divided among the thirty-eight mil
lions Of Frenchmen. would give scarcely fifty
francs per head And as to the money and the
provisions in the shops or in private houses
that might last for week. or, if you like to say
Ut. month, and there would be an end of il.
The wealth of a country is not at the bottom of
wells. from which IL can be always and at any
time drawn; 1t is water which runs and re-
news itself at every instant. Work or industry
Is the source of a country's wealth: if the foun-
tain stops only during eight days the river will
soon be dry. If in few DAYS. or few weeks
at the very utmost work is not resumed every-
where. We shall all die of starvation, as in be-
leaguered city
The young workman answered nothing: he
only seemed to eat and to drink more hur-
riedly; but his comrade now spoke
We have not made this revolution, sir in
order 70 live in idleness. Ny comrade has spo-
ken like child. We know very well that we
must work after, we did before, the revolu-
ton. Only instead of working for the benefit
Of master, we shall now work for our own
Proit. Our wish is to work as men, free and
all equal. but not to WORK like slaves. We wish
to be our own masters, and that is why we have
made the revolution"
Where have you been at work % asked the
second speaker.
Il am an engineer in the company of the =.
L. NJ. paris, Lyons and MarseillesJ railway"
Then, said i. by the revolution you have
come 10 be your own master You will start
your engine when you like, you will take il
where you like, at any speed you like, and you
viii stop al whatever place you like on the
journey. only hope you will have the good
Ness to let me know when il is your turn to
drive. that may take another train
Citizen. said the engineer, knitting his
eyebrows, Il beg you will not make me seem
TO talk nonsense. 1 know that in the manage
mens OF railways. as IN every other collective
enterprise, there must be regulations. L
merely mean TO say that we should be much
more disposed to obey some man who is not
our superior merely because he has more pay.
or has been able to pass the examination of the
Central school of engineering"
But, said /. there must be ALWAYS some
one to give the orders. If it is not a manager
or an engineer named by the company it must
be one appointed by the state Even admit
ting that you took your chiefs by voting them
from the ranks, am not sure that you would
be more ready to obey a former comrade than
an engineer from the Central or from the Poly
technic school. In fact. obedience among
those who consider themselves all equal is
rather the harder 10 observe. At all events. il
Is not possible To make a complete revolution
even IN the management of a railway company
Industry in our day Is like army; it marches
IN masses, and in order that the vast number
OF men who cooperate in a collective enter
prise should do anything useful. it is necessary
that each should know and obey the counter
sign and maintain an iniexible discipline. an
IRON solidarity, which makes each individual
like wheel in the machine"
There was silence when l had finished Let
II be remembered that these men were not of
what are called the criminal classes as some
suppose all socialists and communists To be
They were decent workingmen misguided bv
the teaching and plausible statements of theor-
lists and demagogues. The Oldest of the three.
who had first addressed me, but had since kept
silence, now spoke.
Sir. excuse these young men; they are not
yet well informed in the social question What
We seek Is simply to free ourselves from the
spectators and parasites who, under the name
of masters and capitalists, suck from us the
chief OF the DrOducr Of our labor and