Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-26


into another quarter they gave the same
ousiness-lke impression, over again. And
again, and again, and again. For every
Paris workman has been a soldier; and 1t is
nxed In his mind that regiments march
from this fixed point to that-then stop. The
sedatlve erect was, therefore, twenty times
repeated. THE regiments are passing,"
THE regiments are at handw
A gigantic street car network works by
means of innumerable transfer stations
NOW, observe the wisdom of the "Lepine
ambulance dodge"
The Ambulance Dodge.
1t was a brand-ned Lepine Inspiration.
Every transfer station was transformed
into snowy temporary ambulance station.
few plain-clothes police In long white
hospital busters a stretcher displayed In
vitingly on the sidewalk, a Red Cross flag
fiuttering over the doorway-and the trick,
was done.
'Sapristi they mean business" reflected
the most savage Apache.
Where are the 100000 manifesting work
ingmen? Where are the 10000 Apaches?
Their general meeting place was In the i'm
mense Place de la Republique, near their
fan Gus Bourse de Travail You know what
these labor exchanges are? They consti-
tute places of reunion for the Capitalization
of labor syndicates and, at the same time
syndicate intelligence offices. This one of
Paris was built at great cost by the mu-
nicipality in 1Ss6-s7. AS the result of agi-
tations the government closed 1t In 1898
and reopened 1t in 1895 ito professional
woIkingmens syndfcates only" since which
time it has been the natural center Of
hfgher-class agitation. great placard
running across its whole front read:
From May l we will work but eight
hours dayI
The vast ma jority of the 100, 600 working
men live far from here-across Paris in all
directions. In factory suburbs, In the ar
tisans' districts. In the cheap-rent quar-
tiers, all over-because the decree of the
general confederation affected all the syn
dicat ted trades.
No one will ever know how many started
out. Perhaps 60, 600 had the good will to
make beginning. Perhaps 10000 actually
got to see the famous eight hours placard
in the course OF the day-but not all at the
same time, oh, not
"Ah, the "petits .paquets! All, the
strategy of the manifesting high school
boys! In his vast private office the Wild
eyed, intense little king of the Paris streets
received telephone and auto and bicycle
messages minute after minute.
Directing the Forces.
On table was spread a great map of the
capital. Half dozen trained subordinates
kept pricking colored flags into 1t. Shift
tDat nag TWO DOCKS on! Mass tHOSe tHfte
flags together, Here-a message-separate
those four; they have been finally divided.
Start the blue up the Avenue Henri Martin,
And you, Vasseur, be ready when the mes
sage comes to shift the red into the
Place of the Trocadero. Quelian, you have
the procession down the Avenue Kleber.
1t thus that Monsieur Lepine man
aged the manifestng high school boys Of
half Paris when they had date to heap
flowers on the statue of Joan of Arc and
raise Cain generally a famous occasion.
He did not stop the minded youth
from marching. No: he let them march
all day! To have mishandled them would
have been to make them martyrs So the
wise, white-faced, haggard little man took
care not to brandish his big stick. The
boys were all marching to the statue, sure.
They all got there yes. But no important
| 81 Cup got there at the same time with an
| other.
| So he did with the infinitely more danger
| Gus syndicated thousands on the day OF
, fear. Like an expert checker player who
knows how to block game without ex-
changing men, Monsieur Lepine barred this
| bridge but let them march hurrahing silly
| triumph. five blocks down and cross that
| for ten minutes Here they would find q
| street barred-and think themselves smart
| to make a long detour. All, me! the de-
| tour was part of Lepine's plan.
So they arrived at the Bourse de Travail,
all day long, In ''petfts paquets," thou
| sands dropping out of the procession, yes
| but thousands still persisting. now thou
| sand. now another-while around the VAST
| Place de Ia Republique continually moved
| the celebrated "Mouquin merry-go-roundl
| Mcnsiuer Lepine has graciously bestowed
4 the credit of its invention. with the name,
| on bis confidential subordinate Monsieur
| Mouquin. Essentially 1t consists of Few
/ hundred heavy dragons or cuirassters,
| from Ave to ten abreast, riding their heavy
| chargers in a compact mass round and
| round and round the open space that hap
pens to be threatening as place or vlo-
| lence.
1 So does an ice breaker navigate the freez-
| ing waters of a port-as much to prevent
the Ice from forming as to break it.
The Merry Go Round" Effective.
So when the long day of fear was fin.
| ished Paris woke to the result that peace
"a London Sunday-had been kept witt
the arresting OF six hundred persons, where
as on an ordinary mid-Lent holiday tbs
| average of arrests for slight disorders Il
between fifteen hundred and two thousand
Next week 1 may be able TO tell you o
| the special reason why Parisfans were 81
| extra scared-th,s story of an alleged roy
allst plot where Philippe of Orleans ma.
| have he'd an option on O vast number of syn
| dicates whose workingmen turned out no
to be ready for delivery, all the same, a
the last moment. Certainly the treasure
of the Central Confederation of Labor 1
now under arrest charged with complieit,
in this mysterious plot. Certainly PART
lived q feyerish week and more after tn
day of fear. And certainly Monsieur lie
pine held the street with an iron hand Il
velvet glove.
| Little by little the striking syndicates mad
terms. Little by little the troops wer
Withdrawn Little by little Monsieur LIE
pines kingdom melted under his eyes-an'