Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-12-20
A SPIRIT OF MURDER
Seems to Constantly Hover Over the
City Of Paris.
The Stgns Are Right for a Repeti.
ton OF the Bloody Scenes OF
Revolution OF 1850
and 1874.

y ii
in Paris. That unhappy city. baptized
so often with blood, is threatened again
with murderous disturbance such as
those which have SO frequently black-
ened its fair name. It is but thin
barrier that stands between Paris aud
slaughter of the innocents. Uprisings
in which blood has flowed freely are
of such recent occurrence as to be with
IN the memory of all, and the further
back one goes in the country's history
the worse are the deeds CT this highly
strung people.
The terrible days of the revolution,
during which the whole country was
deluged with blood, We're succeeded by
a 1uli that was broken after the apture
OF Paris by one of those terrible muir
der waves that have given the Partisan
populace so unenviable reputation
On March IS. 1871, the city was in the
hands OF the red republicans, and nine
days later the commune was declared
the only lawful government. Nothing
was safe from the wild mob after that
The column erected to the memory OF
Napoleon and his army in one Of the
principal squares of Paris was pulled
down as a''monument of tyranny" A
systematic war was begun on all pub
lie buildings, petroleum being used to
ignite them and the flames being fed
with oil to make them burn the faster
NO one was allowed to interfere with
the progress of the flames, and the loss
was incalcrlable, many priceless relics
being destroyed.
Murder stalled through the streets
By day and night. Human life was
counted so cheap that the sight of the
dead lying in the street excited scarce
~ any attention at all. While the muir
derers were killing they were them
selves being killed. for the government
troops under Marshal NfacMahon fierce
~ attacked the insurgents. and behind
hastily thrown up barricades of paving
stones, wagons, household furniture
and anything that came handiest, the
strife ran red in the streets of Paris.
Cannon shot were fired at the ,barri-
cades, volleys We're fired up ana down
the streets; the sight of Il man fleeing
for his life, pursued by a mob of demons
firing at the fugitive until he fell riddled
with balls. was sight that could be
seen almost every hour of some of the
days. So demoniacnl had become the
murderous mobs Of Paris that women
were shot down in the streets, and the
nends who did this, not content with
killing the living, would empty their
guns again and again into the haccid
corpse in sheer excess of passion and
wanton eagerness to Kill.
The commune came to an end only
when $4,000 prisoners had been taken
and Paris had been so torn by strife
that it seemed a hopeless task to bring
order out of chaos. Many of the pris-
oners suffered death, while number
were transported. The commune was
beaten down, but not killed entirely
during this terrible era. The spirit OF
the commune survives in Paris, and, as
the late riots prove, it needs only an
opportunity and leader to break out
| red-handed once more.
The commune and the spirit of the
commune are old and familiar phan-
toms of Paris. The war that gave
America its freedom gave birth in
France to the hope that there was re-
lief to the people from the lash under
which they had groaned for SO long.
Contenptuously kicked aside by the
nobles treated far worse than the
horses in the aristocratic stables, the
French peasants covered and shrunk
from their prosecutors, but nursed feel
ings Of revenge nevertheless.
The storm broke at last. and for once
at least the people had some cause to
kill. The tide of murder rose in every
pnrt OF the country. Blood was first
shed on July ~, 1889, in fight be-
tween the people and the kings troops
1t was the first blood of terrible era
that left France satisfied with killing
The streets literally ran blood Th.
guillotine, called into existence by the
necessity for some means of putting
an end to life that would be more eX-
peditious than the comparatively slow
method of execution by the headman'E
ak, cnt Oft heads as fast as their owners
necks could be barred and placed be-
meath the fatal knife. King, queen.
family, mobiles, suspects, passed by to
the guillotine. until there was no mora
aristocratic blood TO be shed, and still
the people thirsted for more Then
came the leaders who had condemned
others to death. In their turn they
We're condemned and killed. and those
who saw them go to their death them
selves went to the beyond by way Of
the guillotine at the command of newer
leaders of the murder mob.
The suddenness with which the
French nation plunges into a vortex
of blood is only equaled by the ease
with. which the country is mopped up
and set to rights again after the reigr
Of terror is over. Order succeeds chaos
with amazing CELEBRITY. 1t is faculty
necnliar to the ErnnnI No c4l,a,. *