The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-07-17
had been there from Ii years of age, an
other had become imbecile.

nad been there from III years OF age, an
other had become imbecile.
To France this day. sullied by the bloody
work of cowardly massacre, is regarded as
the birthday of her freedom, for from that
day no man has been seized and robbed of
liberty in France without trial before some
tribunal, which allowed him to confront
his accusers, produce witnesses and make
defense; there was the form of constitu-
tionai freedom in France after the Bastile
to the extent at least that no similar prison
was erected and no Frenchman disap-
peared from the world and sank into a
dungeon because a despot willed it and
raised his finger. Even the blood-boltered
''Terrorists," while they might make q
trial q farce, never dared to re-enact
the Bastile methods of justice, and
Napoleon at the height of his power never
dared TO do it. France justly therefore
selects this day as the anniversary of her
first emancipation from the absolutism of
kings The first republic lasted about ten
years; then came the consulate and the
empire, lasting about fifteen years. The
Bourbons, restored by Waterloo, were
driven out again in 1880; Louis PHILIPPE
reigns nearly eighteen years, and is de-
throned by the revolution of 1S4s, which
POUNDS the second republic, which is upset
by Louis Napoleon, who on its ruins
founded the second empire. The second
empire tumbled into ruin at Sedan, and
the third republic succeeded, which has
had nearly twenty-one years of life,
and is today IN condition of domestic
prosperity and harmony which promises
well for its permanency. In spite of her
great debt; in spite of some blunders of
policy, like the settlement of Tonquin,
Tunis, Madagascar, the French Republic
has been well governed, and, all things
considered, has achieved remarkable sue
cess. If President Carnot continues to
hold the confidence of the people, and
France remains at peace to the end of his
term, there is every reason to expect that
the third republic is a permanent victory
for popular government in Europe; that
is, the time is passed when France will re-
turn to royalty or submit to the rule of a
military dictator.
OF the first great French Revolution, in
which the brutal murder of its garrison
was repulsive incident, cheap politicians,
and some who are not cheap. but strong
men, are fond of saying that it is ulti-
mately likely to repeat itself here. Henry
George says it will repeat itself unless his
pet ideas prevail, while Mayor Hewitt, of
New York, answered that the French Rev
olution would certainly repeat itself if the
ideas of George obtained supremacy in
American politics. This is extravagant
talk on both sides. Seven hundred years
of social, political and industrial tyranny
preceded the French Revolution, and the
people finally went mad under awful suffer-
ing. They had been taxed into starvation by
tyrants to pay for wars, for royal parasites
and prostitutes. The king, the court, and
their historical confederates, a corrupt
priesthood, plundered the people, squan
dered their wealth, and answered every
complaint with the gibbet, the az, the
cord, the wheel and the Bastile. Under
these terrible circumstances the French
Revolution came, and it ought to have
come long before it did; it ought to come
again under like circumstances, but with
all its mad excuses il was worth in vast
and enduring reform all the blood and
treasure it cost. 1t replaced the old feudal
system of land tenure with body of six
million land owners. and it is that benefi-
ciai distribution that makes France today
land of contented peasant proprietors,
whose votes keep the French republic from
wreck at the hands of royalists, socialists
and communists.
No French Revolution will ever come
in America until We repeat its precedent
of horrible popular misgovernment. and
it will not come in a country where in
dividual ownership of landed property is
universal and feudal tyranny and tenure
unknown. If We repeated the provoca-
ton to the people We might fear the
repetition of their awful revenge, but the
French Revolution was born out of a
state of tremendous industrial, social and
political tyranny; not out of such civili-
cation of universal industrial, social and
political freedom as blesses these United
States.