The daily Alaskan., 1917-01-25
The Defender
 of the Barricade A Story of the Paris
 Commune
ByWILLARD BRAKEMAN

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 The human race lives on Fhe edge of the chasm of war. All modern wars, civilized people having now reached a stage where war Is dreaded, may be referred to as stupidity. One of the most stupid contests within the last | half century was the uprising of the Paris commune at the close of the Franco PrHssian war in 1871. If ever country needed peace in which to re- cover from it's wounds France did at that time. And yet a number of im- practicable idealists, led by villains, for a time paralyzed the government | by fire and sword And when they had succeeded in acquiring the power to carry out their ideas their whole struc- ture fell to the ground because these ideas were utOpian.
 The singular feature of all this is the | sincerity and devotion to cause under which there was no foundation. That the leaders were interruptions, as well as idealists, goes without saying. But many of the reyolutonists undoubtedly fought and died, actuated by pure mo | tiyes.
 During the period when the com munists held Paris by means of barri- cades erected upon the streets through which the national troops were attack ing them, Captain Pierre Le Moyne was ordered to take his company into q narrow street and demolish barri- cade. behind which a party of com munists were entrenched. There was but little room in which an attacking l force could operate, the street being not over thirty feet wide. Captain Le Moyne was obliged to march his men down the narrow lane, the houses of which rose on either side to height greater than the width of the street. The distance from the beginning of the street to the barricade was about 1000 l feet. From the windows and the roofs of the houses it was to be expected that the advancing troops would be picked off by the communists.
 Many a soldier, when he received the order to march into the death trap or 1 heard the reverberation between the houses of the first tap of the drum which announced it, felt that there was little chance of his ever getting out alive. Each stroke on the drum head sounded sharp and loud and om- inous As the little column moved on- ward there was a crack from a win dow, faint cloud of smoke, and one of the men fell on the pavement. An other crack from a roof on the oppo- site side of the street, and another man plunged forward on his face.
 At this rate" thought Captain Le Moyne. "by the time we reach the bar ricade there will be not enough of US ' left to take it."
 "Tap-tap! Tap-tap-tap| came the drumbeats, while at short intervals crack of weapon here and there add ed to their viciousness.
 But as the men advanced the shots came fewer. When One-haf the dis tance had been covered, where there 1 had been a dozen shots a minute there was now only a struggling fire, and the craftsmanship was wild.
 Either they are breaking down" ! said the captain, "or they have concen- trated all their force at the barricade." On marched the troops, reduced by 1 fifth of their number, till. turning bend in the street, they came In sight of the barricade. The firing from the l windows ceased entirely. The silence, broken only by the sharply reYerberat- J ing drum taps, was more ominous than | if the drums had been deadened by a | fusirade. The pile of cObblestones | which foated the blood red flag of the commune looked ugly-more ugly be- cause the weapons behind it, aimed down the narrow street, were invisible. Captain Le Moyne halted his men for l the purpose of taking in the situation. He cast quick glauces at the upper stories and roofs of the houses on each 1 side. No one was in sight, nor was | single shot fired.
 "They are reserviug their fire" said the captain. "We shall get it from the windows when we charge the works"
 He strained his eyes in an endeaYor to get sight of something stirring with in. Not even the 6ag moved, for there was no wind.
 Silence before the storm is more de- pressing that after 1t breaks. Men standing waiting for a fight to open are more unreliable than in the heat Of battle. Le Moyne's soldiers seemed restless. There was no reason for them to move till they received an or der to advance, yet they changed posi-. ticn constantly, casting the while glances at the houses above them and 1 the barricade.
 Though they expected hailstorm Of bullets, when the order Forward" was given they felt relieved. Suspense at least was ended. Again came the sharp tap of the drum as the little col umn moved on without opposition. Ev- l ideutly the communists were reservtng