The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-06-07
WAR FEVER ST|RS FRANCE.
War Song in Chamber of Deputies
Echoed Among People-"Long
Live Henry IV"-Strikes Evil
dence iscontent-Ancient War
Between Rich and Poor.
BY Phil Simms.

BY Phil Simms.
| PARIS, June What is the
meaning of the continued strike
warfare in France? What do the
wild scenes of disorder in Paris
and the unrest In the country por-
tend?
French political writer's say that
the spirit of revolution is in the
air. Radical writers predict that
the people will revolt against the
government and add another
bloody chapter to the long list,
written in history since the storm
ling of the Bastile and the painful
birth of the republic. Some say
it will be in the near future"
Loyal supporters of the govern
ment admit fear and express
doubt.
The public, the newspapers, the
federal employees and even the
legislators, have tremendous and
ever-growing contempt for the
government. Acts which would be
treason anywhere else in the world
are laughed at and tolerated UP
ON THE FLOOR OF THE
FRENCH CONGRESS.
Here's a translation of the first
stanza of the revolutionists' song,
'L'Internationale," the which was
sung by the members of the cham
Der of deputies as kind of open
ing hymn the first day of the pres
emit session.
Arise! Ye damned of the earth!
Arise! Ye slaves of belly-need!
The Right is born, and with her
birth
Will come the end of greed.
Upon the past turn not face,
Enslaved ones. Sound the call!
The earth is changing on its base
We who are naught, let us be
ALL"
The second stanza declares
there is no God; the third charae-
teriZes kings as tyrants and laws
tricks for the benefit of the rich I;
the fourth threatens 1.-The kings of
the mine and the rail-" while the
fifth offers this significant senti-
ment: But If the crowds and the
vultures (meaning the wealthy
one of these mornings have disap-
peared, the SUN will continued to
shine!" The sixth and last is Sig
nificant, and it is hard to imagine
the legislature of even country
like Turkey singing such TIL Ing
while-as was the case at the capi-
toll here-a member mounts plat
form, waving his arms and shouts:
Long live Henry wi" 1t calls up
on the soldiers to rebel against
their officers, and If the latter are
stubborn, shoot them and break
their ranks with the butt ends of
guns.
"If they are obstinate, the can
Inibals," the closing lines read,
Let us make heroes of ourselves
by showing them that our bullets
are for our own generals"
y The day after the legislators
sang this song a group of French
soldiers returning home from the
frontier, lifted their voices to Its
cadances. Their colonel placed
the entire outfit under arrest and
marched them back to barracks.
The government punished these
soldiers for singing song freshly
imported from the halls of con-
gress!
High and low, there is this same
contempt for the government. The
other day some French troops
ltrampled the French flag in the
dust. And the open defiance of
1.-THE postoffice and telegraph en-
ployes in two strikes within two
months Is another indication.
There are 100000 government
|employes In postoffices, tobacco
works, railways. telegraph bu-
reaus, and SO on, and while the
last strike proved a failure, how
long will the government be able
to repress these people? or each
time the soldiers of France have
done the REFRESHING. and it must be
remembered that the soldiers are
in many instances not overmuch in
love with their jobs on account of
the compulsory military service
and also that they are the broth
|ers" of the other fellows.
The strike of the postal en-
ployes falling, a general strike
was called and SO trade unions out
of the 80 odd which compose the
General Confederation of Workers
In France voted unanimously to-
walk out In sympathy, saying the
postmen's cause was their cause,
and a defeat for the postmen was
4 defeat for the workingmen In
general. There are hundreds Of
thousands of these workmen, and
liz the call was not answered as
readily as it might have been At
was because the postmen had al
ready lost their fight before the
general strike was voted, and then,
too. the call to strike was badly
managed.
Then the French government is
against the Jews and against the
Catholics. Fallieres is strongly
|criticiss,d as man without much
power, and Clemenceau, the prime
minister, is something on the order
|of a political boss and rules with
the boss weapons-threats and In
|stilled fear.
/ The common people seem to
think that somewhere or other