News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-09-11

R ulated, al.
though at
times he had tried to stay the slaugh-
ter. Danton's debut as a revolutionist
was brought about through his es'
pousal of the cause Of Marat, who had
been marked by the government for
persecution. Danton was the leading
spirit of the Cordeliers' club, which
was in a quarrel with the Paris munic-
ipality. When Marat was threatened
and forced to quit Paris, the Corde-
liers took up the case, and Danton's clio.
quence succeeded in carrying it before
the national assembly. 1t was decided
against the Cordeliers, but the leader
of the club was before the people as
revolutionist
In Paris the power of the populace
was essential to revolutionary success,
rather than to the middle classes and
the representatives for support He
got what he asked for, for he was
fiery orator, resistless in his energies
and with the politicians knack Of win
ming the peoples trust and affection.
AS a man of action Danton first APP
peared on the scene in the famous at
tack on the Tuileries and the Swiss
guard Aug. 10, 1892. Mirabeau was
then dead, and the king had none to
defend him among the revolutionists.
Soon after the massacre and flight Of
the king the Prussian army was march
ing on Paris to take vengeance for the
outrage upon royalty, and then Danton
cried, 'To stop the progress of the en-
envy we must strike terror to the royal
lists"
The way was not long in showing it.
self after the will had been declared
openly by one whose word was law.
The Paris prisons were filled with po-
litical suspects, friends of the king,
courtiers in the pay of Austria and
Prussia. On the LIST of September YER
dun fell into the hands of the enemy,
removing another block from the path
of the armies coming to restore the
monarchy to power and punish Paris
for it's overthrow. The mob arose, the
prison doors were opened, and the first
frightful massacre of fellow citizens
took place, Danton being foremost in
the deed as he had been in the plot to
incite terror. The royalists were struck
with terror, and the next step was to
dispose of the king.
Under the assembly Danton held the
office of minister of justice, but on be-
ing elected to the national convention
soon after the bloody events of August
and September he became a leader Of
the most radical forces in that radical
body. He was against the king. Said
he: at is true that we, the people, have
no right to be his judges. Very well,
we will kill him" And kill him they
did.
The next radical step was the estab-
lishment Of a revolutionary tribunal,
measure proposed by Danton and one
he afterward had cause to regret. II
began by taking rOyalist heads and
ended in taking Danton's own. Next
the committee of safety was organized,
with Danton a member, associated
with RObespierre against Girondists.
The allies were marching upon Paris,
and the last bulwark against invasion,
LOngwy, had yielded to the victorious
foe. The ministry proposed to aban-
don Paris, but Danton said, mo" He
went out on the Champ de Mars and
enrolled volunteers to stem the inva-
sion, although originally his voice had
been against war. His motto for the
hour, which became the watchword of
revolutionary Paris, was, Daring,
again daring and evermore daring"
The volunteers came at his call in
troops and battalion, saying, eyes, we
will go to the front, but we will not
leave enemies behind u.s." Then fol-
lowed q new era of massacres, which
Danton, with all his prestige as late
minister Of justice, Roland and even
Marat, the friend and adviser of the
people, could not wholly prevent. The
populace was mad for blood and in no
mood to leave it to the tribunal to deal
with traitors.
Strong as he was and courageous,
Danton, no more than other leaders of
that time, could stand against the tide.
He attacked Marat, attempting to draw
the line between bloodthirsty radicals
and true patriots among the Paris sec
tons. He even limited that Marat
should be made a scapegoat to bear
the onus Of the excuses charged
against the Mountain by the Giron-
dins. But Marat was saved, for the
revolutionsts could not afford to fly in
the faces Of the Paris sections which
Marat had at his back whenever he
could cry out against committees, tri.
bvnals, senatorial despotism and the
like. The people rebelled against all
authority but their own until all else
was down, then rebelled against Their
own acts. Even Danton, with all his
lion hearted courage and reason, was
swept along ia the trail of the hot head.
ed Ma{qt.
The downfall of Danton was precipi-
tated by storm raised by Marat
which ended in the suppression Of the
Girondins and finally in Marats assas-