The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-02-02
A RECKLESS ANARCHIST.
Pen Picture X the Trial OF valiant, the
Bomb Thrower.

| nECN.ESS ANAnCrJtots
Pen Picture x the Trial Of valiant. tn.
Bomb Thrower.
| PARIS, Jan. 90.-The French chamber C.
deputies in this city corresponds with thu
| hall in which our congress meets in Wash
| ington, but it is much larger. Into thi.
| chamber on the 9thsef last December sal
| low faced man of 30, with struggling
beard, wild eye, shabby dress and dy
Mantle bomb concealed inside his shirt
passed. This man, Auguste Valiant, had
murder in his heart. From inclination hs
was an Ishmaelite, and civilization as h
knew it had made him a pariah.
From the gallery set apart for strangers
Valiant, the anarchist, hurled the bomt
| into the arena occupied at the time by some
of the foremost statesmen OF France. The
missile was changed from its course by strik
ing pillar, but it fell and exploded. injur
ing number of men, but fortunately caus
ing no loss Of life.
The miscreant was at once arrested, and
after months delay, during which time
he has exulted in his act and regretted that
the effect was not what he intended, he
was recently brought to trial. In looks and
bearing the prisoner strongly reminded one
of Guiteau, the assassin of President Gar
field. Although the man claimed to have
no associates, the authorities here have rea
son to believe that not only France, but
every country in Europe, has its organized
gangs of anarchical dynamiters. For this
reason the Palace of Justice, where the trial
was held, was guarded by scores of police.
men. and no one was permitted to pass
through the lines without written permit.
A great many permits must have been is
sued, for the court was jammed- Within q
few minutes Of noon the officials present
began to call out, Rise ALI Rise all.' and
in an instant all the men and the few WON.
en- present were on their feet. The great
door back Of the bench was thrown open,
and preceded by four uniformed tipstaves
the five judges, sedate, serious and solemn,
entered and took their seats. They were
dressed in long gowns of crimson and black
silk, and the impression that these gar
ments were dressing wrappers was increased
to American eyes by the fact that each
judge wore little skullcap made up prin-
cipally of an enormous tassel and a great
deal of gold braid
A special jury had been selected, and
these men looked far more nervous than
the prisoner, who stood entirely self pos
sessed in the dock with two stalwart off,
GERS within reach And now came the odd
part of the trial Presiding Judge Case or
dered Valiant to stand up, and at once
proceeded to question him as to his name,
age, calling and antecedents, after the man.
ner of police sergeant in one of our sta
tion houses. The prisoner gave his age at
80 and answered the other questions with
out hesitation, but with seeming indiffer-
ence The clerk then read the accusation
charging the prisoner with attempted mur-
der and with the injury of a number of
spectators. Valiant interrupted the read
. ing by calling out:
II am sorry innocent people were hurt. 1
wanted to destroy the deputies, who are re-
sponsible for all the suffering and starva-
tion of the French people today"
After the charge was completed, Judge
Case began his questioning again. Vail
liant never hesitated in his answers nor at
tempted to shirk the responsibility of his
crime. The latitude given him by the
court, indeed the whole method of pro-
cedure, was surprising to an American.
The prisoner, though he does not look it, is
a man of more than ordinary intelligence.
In reply to the judges question as to how
he came to imbibe anarchistic ideas, Vail
liant replied: Il am something the capital
ist hates, and that is workingman who
thinks out causes. have read the philos-
ophy of this question. Herbert Spencer
has been my master, and he demonstrates
what the world must soon acknowledge,
and that is that anarchism is the logical
and therefore the only possible outcome Of
the oppression of the poor by the pluto
Gratis who make up our modern society"
Valiant confessed to the judge that he
had been a thief and a social outcast.
But" he added, what am is the un-
avOidable outcome of the condition of the
poor" He said that he put nails instead
of bullets into the bomb, as his purpose was
to wound a great many rather than to kill
few. Right in the midst Of this remark
able examination the prisoner asked leave
to make an explanation to the jury, and it
was granted seemingly as a matter of
course. After looking over the sea of eager
faces, Valiant fastened his eyes on the
jury, and in a high, clear voice. all the moro
effective from the fact that he made no at
tempt at oratory, he said:
u
hereditary education and environment. If
the state wants good citizens, it should be-
gin with the child, nor cease its protection
when the unproductive years of old age
come. I am what your civilization has
made me, and there are millions of desper-
ate men and women like me on this conti-
nent, all Indifferent to death, for life holds
out to them no hope. Employers profit by
our poverty to pay us starvation wages.
Some have lost all heart, but these condi-
tions have driven others like myself into
secret or open revolt. Everywhere among
the poor there is discomfort, and the feeling
grows strong among them that it is better
to die protesting in blood against existing
conditions than to famish for food.
Why" he asked, raising his voice for
the first time. should men like me respect
the law that destroys their manhood, while
it makes the rich man richer2 We don't
respect such q law, and SO we are anarch-
lists. Sentence my head to pass under the
knife-I am ready-but bear in mind there
are million heads preparing for the same
fate. But before all are cut off you may
think better Of it and change the laws that
swell the rich mans capital and grind the
faces Of the poor"
After this the doorkeepers in the chamber
of deputies and some of the prisoner &c
Quaintances-friends he appeared to have
none-were called and testified as TO his
character and the bomb throwing. Men
who had worked with him represented him
as an honest, industrious man who had
been cursed by hard luck and d bad wife.
NJ. Bertrand. the public prosecutor, sum-
m AL mn tho e,yi5onoo hit there WAS no need
of his eloqGence. In the minds of the jury