Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1906-05-08
PARIS LABOR RIOTS.
STRIKERS IN FRENCH CAPITAL
STONE THE POLICE,
Troops Guard the City and scores
of Arrests Are Made, Prisoners
Being Quickly Sent 10 JaiI-Many
Terrorists Are Expelled.

May day fo1 nd Paris armed to the
teeth for a labor riot. The preparation
was necessary, for several clashes of
crowds and mobs occurred. The police
were stoned and they had to charge the
rioters with drawn revolvers, The en-
tire force of police, troops and repub-
lican guards on duty numbered 10000
\ squadron of cavalry charged the man
ifeStants on the Place de la Republique
forcing the rioters toward the st. Mar
tin canal. Dragons then formed a cor
don, cutting off ingress to the square.
Later fifty additional arrests were
made
The first disturbance occurred at IL
o'clock, when the police called on the
troops to assist them in keeping the
crowds circulating ON the Place de la
Republique. Two Squadrons of cavalry
quickly swung into the square, while
100 arrests of diSorderly persons were
made by the police. The prisoners were
formed into groups and two magls-
trates sitting at the neighboring bar
racks, promptly tried the diSturbers of
the peace and committed them to jail
This, however, was not sufficient to
break up the crowds on the square.
Bodies of strikers chanting the revolu-
tionary hymn attacked the police. using
bricks and cobblestones. Reinforce
ments of police soon arrived. They
charged the crowd with drawn revolv-
ers and the rioters broke and fed. The
storekeepers in the neighborhood of the
scene of the affray hastily closed their
doors and shutters, fearing a general
spread of the agitation, hut the police
succeeded in combining the demonstra-
ton to the streets near the Palace de In
Republique. Up to noon the disorder
had been localized and the authorities
were easy masters of the situation.
Detachments of troops were posted
around the Bank of France and in the
streets leading thereto The American
embassy was also strongly guarded by
police.
crowd of striking printers attempt
ed to march in procession from the
Bourse du Travail tlabor headquar-
ters), singing a revolutionary song.
They attacked the police. who were
compelled to draw their revolvers. The
procession was then broken up. Dur
ing the forenoon a squadron of cuiras-
siers with an ambulance occupied the
M nj Of Il, g. H.,
Champs Elysees. Detachments of cav
airy patrolled the thoroughfares in the
vicinity of the ministries and the quay
D'Orsay.
Many anarchists have been expelled
from Paris, including Stephane, Guert-
Zicoff and one woman. NJ. Levy. secre-
tary of the Confederation of Labor, and
NJ. Fromentin, the wealthy anarchist,
have been arrested.
Cause of Trouble in France.
For more than year the labor leaders
of France have been preparing for a great
movement, the main object of which is the
securing of an eight-hour day for all the
workingmen of the republic The head
quarters of the crusade are in Paris.
Most of the labor organizations of the
country, having a total membership of
about 100000 men, gave their approval
to the proposed innovation. Nearly ev-
cry industry was represented in the move
ment and it became apparent a few weeks
ago that unless the employers granted the
shorter working day, many and serious
strikes would result. The situation was
aggravated by the bitterness of the strike
in the mining districts This was for bet
ter pay and conditions, the disaster at
Courrieres giving point and force to
the mems demands. In the early part of
April the postmen of Paris struck for the
eight-hour day and an increase of pay, |
as well as the right to form a union.
Employers have been reluctant to grant |
the demand for shorter working day on |
the ground that it would make it impos-
sible for them to compete with the manu- |
facturers of Britain, Germany and the |
United States, and that many industries |
would be ruined They also asserted that |
the movement was not backed by the real |
workingmen of France, but was inaug- |
urated by anarchists and agitators for
purposes of their own. Politics. too,
seems to have had a hand in it, and it
was for this reason in particular that the
government interviewed and took extraor-
linary precautions to prevent the carrying
out of revolutionary plots under cover of
labor troubles.