Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-06-26
THE FRENCH CRISIS.

The recent disturbances in the south
eru provinces OF France are character
lied as the most serious the present re-
public has experienced, They ended
by the Chamber Of Deputies passing
practically unanimously, all the claus
rs OF the wine frauds bill previously
adopted separately. thus enabling the
government to put the measure into
immediate effect and remove the prin-
cipa grievance Of the wine growers
The people were indicated, but the
lives that were sacrificed in the riots
cannot be restored.
The wine growers had, seemingly
cause for complaint They found
that a great deal more wine is sold IN
France than is produced in the coun-
try. and they arrived al the conclu-
sion that, through some defect in the
laws, the industry of adulteraton was
fourIShing TO the detrlment of the
honest Industry. Water and sugar
hud tartarIc acid. with coloring matter
were put In the market in competition
with the natural juice of the grape.
Spoiled wines which ought never to sec
the market were rejuvenated with acids
and drugs. and inferior products We're
fortified with industrial alcohol, and
wines of good body were watered
down. All in ALL the wine of the South
was made unstable by fraud and adul-
teration. and the consequence was
poverty and destitutiOn there
But there would. perhaps. not have
been any agitation but for the appear
ance in the arena of man who knew
how TO interprete the sentiments of
the populace. Marcelin Albert. him
self wine grower, gathered the dis
satisfied around him. The agitation
spread like wild-fi fire. An army OF
southerners $4,000 strong, marched in
to Narbonne. In few days the crowd
had grown to 100000. A week later
100000 were gathered ut Perpignan.
and at Carcassonne there were 100000.
And thus the movement continued to
grow. The scene at Narbopne Is de-
scribed as follows;
There were a hundred women OF
NarbOnne In mourning There were
as many young girls In white with the
French tricolor wound round their bod
ices. Some OF the villagers had been
marching on foot for three days from
their homes more than hundred miles
away. Every quarter of an hour all
through Saturday. all through the
night. trains rumbled in with their liv-
ing freight, which issued forth after
weary hours of Journey to march AMI
sound the 'Marseillaise' of the wine-
growers with trumpet and drum. The
bishop had ordered that all the church.
es should be opened for refuge during
the night All wore the picture OF
Marcelin Albert, the redeemer,' as
hlasphemy and on one OF the banners
was written the popular rhyme; Let
Marce!in Albert's win be done; be
his the law, be sugar undoner
They demanded laws protecting their
industry against competition with
fraudulent products. and their de-
nands seem 10 have been granted,
France was awakened to realization
Of the fact that it is dangerous to go
too far in ignoring the natural rights
of the people 10 the enjoyment OF life
and the pursuit Of happiness.
But, is the danger really over? 1t
seems that the temper Of certain class
Is OF the French people, since the car
rying out of the separation law is such
that II takes but little agitation 10
produce a great commotlon, II that
Is true, we may look for disturbances
and riots on even less provocation than
presented in the dispute about the
wine production,