People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1892-12-30

nighted heather did not know what
to do with themselves.
So the giver of the feast would
fetch in a band of Gladiators and
set them to cutting each other with
swords. The well stuffed guests
would range themselves around in
easy, high bred attitudes and watch
the murders which were being COM
mitted for their amusement. It
stimulated digestion. They would
make bets on the different Gladia-
tors as you now see some forlorn
people do on chicken fight.
By the time the sight grew little
tiresome to the lockers on and it was
stopped, about half the slaves would
be dead and the other half gashed
and bleeding from numerous wounds.
Then the dead were carted out
ike so much carrion and thrown
into the River while the survivors
were carried back to their chains and
cells-to be cured Of their hurts and
to be ready to fight again.
Such were only few of the hor-
rors of the Roman Slave System.
They believed that a Slave had no
more rights than a horse. They had
no conception that men were born
free and equal.
The Slaves, therefore, were ripe
for revolt. All they wanted was
leadership and organization. To
them, death under the open skies,
fighting for freedom, was better
than death in the arena, fighting for
the sport Of cruel masters.
So when Spartacus won his second
victory, putting to flight an army of
5000 men, all these dissatisfied classes
began to rally to him. He soon
had large force Of well armed
troops. He drilled them carefully
and constantly. He was a great
general and he knew he had a fear
ful struggle before him.
He did just what Abraham Lin
coin did. He issued an Emancipa-
ton Proclamation.
The Slaves everywhere looked
upon him as their liberator. Herds
men, cattle drivers, shepherds, free
laborers and the farmers who had
been pushed off the public lands,
composed his army which now con-
sisted Of 10000 men.
Another Roman army was sent
against Spartacus. In marching up
on him it divided into two columns.
He saw his chance as quickly as
Napoleon would have seen it. Dash
ing on the weakest division, he
crushed it. Then rushing on the
other, he swept it from the field.
The army Of Spartacus rapidly
grew. It soon consisted Of 10000.
The Roman General, Varius, raj
lied his broken forces, gathered in
reinforcements and confronted Spar
tacus with numbers still greater than
his own.
Varinius was annihilated.
spartacus simply destroyed him
and from that day to this we hear
no more Of Varinius. He knew
when he had enough.
Spartacus was now the master of
the situation In all that part Of the
Roman Country. A band Of mere
Slaves, mere rag-tag and bob-tail,
had cleaned up everything in sight.
Don't you know the Romans were
mad
He overran all the Country, round
about, took many cities, supplied his
soldiers with all they wanted and
then went into winter quarters just
like regular general, and not at all
like slave.
At this time the Roman Senate
was trying to put down the Labor
Unions that existed among the free
laborers of the cities and towns and
country. These unions were secret
societies for the benefit Of the Ia
borers and the Roman Senate was
very much opposed to them. The
Unions did not wish to be crushed
out and the supposition is that Spar
tacus got much help from them in
his war for Freedom.
Many of their members are known
to have been in his army.
In a speech which Cicero made
some time after this war, he was de-
nouncing the Labor Unions, and he
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