Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-04-14

Strike Proclamation Is Issued and
Troops Fire on Laborers.
MEN KILLED AND INJURED,
Twenty-fOur Victims Taken to Hos
Ditals-Additi0nal Outbreaks Are
Feared-TO Consider Constitu.
tionaI Revision Wednesday.

Brussels, Belgium, April IA gen.
eral strike has been proclaimed. and
Wednesday a political crisis will be
reached by the opening in the chamber
Of deputies of the discussion Of the
question of the revision of the consti-
tuition, on which the Belgian people are
now divided.
The Socialists ana Liberals have for
a long time past been seeking to force
the Clerical government to an issue OH
the question Of the electoral law, modi-
fication of which will necessitate re-
vision Of the constitution.
At the present time any elector can
cast from one to three votes, according
to his qualifications. The Socialists and
Liberals assert that workingmen can
not obtain more than two votes, where
as the rich get three, and, moreover,
that In the rural districts the voters
who are under the domination Of the
priests and who support the present
government are often fraudulently CIV
en- three votes instead of the two to
WulCu Lucy uIC cIluIlCu Ou1ys
The Liberal leader in the chamber of
deputies, M. Janson, submitted mo-
ton for the revision Of the constitu
ton, which the government has agreed
shall come before the chamber next
Wednesday. If the Clerical majority
consents to take the proposition under
consideration, it will be referred to a
committee for examination. This will
be the first gain for the Revisionists
and it undoubtedly will have an i'm
mense effect in calming the country,
which at the present moment Is every
where in state of ebulliti0n.
Arrest of Socialist Leader.
When NJ. Van der Velde, the Socialist
leader, left the chamber of deputies at
its last meeting and emerged into the
street, he was recognized and followed
by a number of persons. The police
dispersed the crowd and arrested M.
Van der Velde, who was conveyed to
the police station, but was soon releas-
ed, with the official explanation that
his being taken into custody was due
to mistaken identity.
After being released M. Van der
velde proceeded to the Maison du Peu-
pie, where he addressed the crowd,
urging them to refrain from creating a
disturbance and not to give the police
pretext for further violence. The crowd
gradually dispersed, but later reassem-
bled in the square facing the Maison
du Peuple. A detachment Of the civic
guards thereupon marched through the
square, clearing 1t and the contiguous
thoroughfares.
A short time later the mob again
grew troublesome, and the gendarmes
were ordered to clear the narrow, tor
tuous adjacent streets, in which threat
ening crowds We're massing. The gen
darmes charged with drawn swords and
fixed bayonets and were greeted with
a hail of stones. The people in some
Of the houses hurled fiowerpots, knives,
lighted boxes and matches upon the
heads of the charging police. A re-
volver fusillade was begun by both
sides, and some of the gendarmes fired
their rifles. Three rioters were killed
outright, and several were shot and in
jured. A few of the policemen were
hurt.
Gendarmes Drew Swords.
After this encounter wide area
around the Maison du Peuple was sys-
tematically cleared by successive
charges Of the gendarmes carrying
drawn swords and revolvers and civic
guards with fixed bayonets. Mounted
gendarmes, wherever the crowd looked
ugly, fred blank cartridges from their
revolvers, while the officers shouted at
the top Of their voices, "Close your
windows" Every window was COW
cred by the rifles Of the troops until
closed.
There is every reason to expect re-
newals of the disturbances at any mo-
ment, as a majority Of the rioters are
apparently roughs and young irrespon.
sibles.
The detective department is busy
wedding out the anarchists and revo-
lutionary suspects in the coal districts
Ten foreigners guilty Of distributing
0dSto nave DCCA 0CpOi I
ed from the mines near Mons. The
president and secretary Of two of the
principal Socialist societies at La Lou,
Were were also arrested. The regiment
of the line, which was brought from
Antwerp to re-enforce the civic guard
at La Louviere, is patrolling that town
Two of the Socialists who were
wounded in the rioting have since died
in the St. Pierre hospital. The news OF
their death spread rapidly, and mol
gathered with the intention of storm
ing the building and carrying off theil
bodies, but it was intercepted and dis
persed by the troops, who are main
tanning Gordon arouSd the hospital.
Twenty-four persons have been TAX
en- to the hospitals suffering from in
juries received in the disturbances.
One workman who was shot has not
been identified. He was probably a
spectator, as there were many such in