The sun., 1907-03-10


by exceptional sales at emergency prices
the darker side Of the commercial and in.
dustrlal aspect Of the strike impends, For
the deprivation Of motive power and the
shutting down Of factories will cause wide
spread hardship to workers, many Of whom
are paid by the day.
among the curious shifts resorted to by
those who were obliged to continue work
that of the General Post Office struck the
popular fancy as partial compensation
ior the delay in the delivery Of to-day's
mail, which siOuld have been sorted out
last night. The Post Offics bought hun
dreds Of candles and pounds OF potatoes.
They cut the potatoes in half and used them
Tor candlesticks.
A much more serious side to the strike,
however. is the esociO-economic one. COM
Taratively small band of workmen were able
| tohold up the city without a moment & notice
In one OF the most essential public cOnven-
| iences. In America, where the newspapers
are accustomed to warn the people Of com-
ing strikes If they are likely to affect the
public, the suddenness Of this tieup will
not easily be realized. Here everybody
was comfortable when the strike broke
Even the newspapers which depend on the
company's electric service did not know
or suspect that a strike was coming.
The strike has not received the SUD-
port OF any section Of the press, which.
while not neglecting the demands Of the
workers, places the citys interest. COM
fort and good name ahead Of the right TO
strike The chief Socialist organ was
unable to appear until late this morning.
The central government and the mu-
nicipality are both blamed for the strike.
though it is by employees OF private COM
panles. which, however. hold concessions.
In the face Of the existing calm, the express
slons OF the royalist press partake OF the
nature OF the ludicrous. Like the American
yellow journals which foresee war over
the murder Of butterfly. the royalists
doom the republic.
In some days" says the GdUt is. there
will no doubt be veritahle catastrophe.
The tree bears all its fruit. We are only
In tho budding time. TheSocialsts destroy
what they touch invariably. Can the lovers
OF order realize the great perils that we
precipitate, in the social revolution, OF
which last nights events are but the pre-
cursor that this is but a rehearsal for
May day"
The Figaro says the scandal shows whittier
the Governments shameful alliance with
the enemies Of order has led. Ministers.
Deputies and Councillors have preached
to the workers about their rights Could
the brains Of the laborers be supposed to
be sufficiently balanced to resist these
counsels of rebellion? 1t is but the begin
ming of the harvest of hatred.
In all the berating of the Government,
however, there has been no demand for
municipalization. The deplorable tele-
phone service of Paris alone is doubtless
enough to prevent going to such an extreme
cure. An easy way, however. to show
what benefits the strikers aim at Is to recall
that the workmen in that single section
of the city where the Government main
tains an electric light service enjoy two
months vacation with pay every year with
another months absence and pay in case
of sickness. 1t is said that this sick leave
is always taken, and thus each worker |
has three months idleness with pay.
One Of the drastic methods which was |
to break the strike, but which |
was not resOrted to, was to place army |
engineers in charge Of the power houses. A |
regiment OF engineers was available at
Versailles.
Only two of the evening papers have
oeen published to-day, one OF them appear
ng at $50 instead of at $50 O'Clock, its
regular hour. The theatres did not open
o-night. The Opera Comique is making an
Mort to furnish lights by means of portable
engines.
The Prefecture of Police reports a total
II $50 strikers, but their number is probably
between 500 and 1000.
Along the Avenue de rOpera and the Rue
lu Louvre the lights were burning, because
he street lamps in that section are supplied
rom a municipal power station. But the
,pera house itself was pitch dark and hun
lreds Of people were turned away from its
,losed doors
The sudden cutting OF Of the city's cleo
ric light supply called forth good deal of
ingenuity from those who we're dependent
m it in their businesses. One Paris paper
ndeavored to set its presses In motion by
them with a 90 horsepower
automobile.