Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-09-05

successor. Louis XVI. credited with being an am
table ruler, sent forth 1896 on their missions Of
oppression.
1t might well have been written over the en-
trance of the Bastillc, He who enters here,
leaves hope behind" The place realized the dark
est visions Of Dante's Inferno. Separated from
the streets Of the city by a moat 125 feet wide
and % feet deep, and accessible only by u draw
bridge, it was like an Isle Of the Dead.
In its noisoine dungeons abominable crueltics
were visited upon unfortunate prisoners, who
were condemned to the rack and the boot and the
wheel, or chained TO pillars and logged. There
were circular cells with conical tops, in which the
inmates could neither stand erect, nor sit, nor lie.
The roll of the sufferers of the Bastille is a long
one. Various degrees of punishment were meted
out to the prisoners, according to the whims of
the sovereign. Some Of them. like the Man with
the Iron Mask, for a time Il prisoner in the Bas-
tile, were treated with consideration. They
had bounteous meals. and were assigned to rooms
in which there was a fair amount of light, and
were even permitted to walk in the garden.
They had scant enjoyment. however, for they
never knew when they would be doomed to the
fate of their less favored fellows. Men lived 90
and even 60 years in the Bastille. until they lost
all connection with the world beyond the moat.
In that world toward the close Of the eighteenth
century mighty changes came to pass. The line
of the Louis had so impoverished the nation that
the national credit was imperiled. When Louis
Nv came to the throne 4 debt of SSOO.UN,OO hau
been piled up. and it continued to pyramid. The
common people had been footing the bill, and now
came the proposal. strange In those days, that
the nobility and the clergy. the privileged classes.
should share the burden witt, the Third Estate.
1t was a day Of questioning and hearkening and
soul searching. The words Of VOltaIre, Rousseau
and Diderot were sinking deep into the national
consciousness. Hence assemblies to talk over
these proposals.
In vain were the prisons filled with ~agltators
and the Voltaires sent into exile. The storm was
gathering. If the monarchy was to be sustained
in its extravaganza and feudalism to be upheld
the mailed fist must do its work. But there was
more TO deal with than mur1nuring serfs and a
handful Of encyclopedias. The soldiers of France,
who were expected to uphold the old regime,
showed that they were unwilling to kill their IA
theirs and brothers like dogs.
The people of Paris ransacked their city until
they found arms or the material for making
pixies. The time had come when the rights OF
men should prevail, and men who are starving
under tyranny are easily recruited. AS the forces
Of the new order grew they thought with one nc'
cord Of the hated symbol Of that CALLING oppres'
sion which was the cause Of all their suffering
The cry ITO the Bastillc y rose from a hundred
thousand throats.
Men and women armed with weapons as ef"c
tive as popguns would be against a dreadnaush'
moved against the ancient stronghold. Bullets
battered and flattened against the massive walls
The defense was only half hearted. and tn.
French guards on the battlements were soon wav
Ing flags OF truce. A force greater than all the
munitions ever made was at work--a public senti
ment which had become a r~esstless torrent. De
launay, the governor Of the Bastille. tre,nbled BE-
fore II and surrendered. Down came the creak
Ing drawbridge and across It rushed the infuri
ated ~citizcnry. The tide flowed In and ont Of tM
dim corridors aud searched out the narrow cells
As soon as there was the seinblancc OF govern
ment arrangements were made for removing th'
Bnstillc. The work took the contractor nearly
year, although, he employed n large force. Their
was Il thriving business in Its relies. for hundred
OF tho blocks Of stone were carved into model
Of the prison and sold as memcntoes. Locks an
bolts were distributed al over the world q
souvenirs.
Although tho demolition Of the Bastillc itsel
proceeded. the thing for which 1t stood was M
80 easily swept aside. Feudal Germany an
Austrln blocked the road to liberty. We Of TIL
day. with the perspective Of n century ahd NOR
Of history and belonging to a nation which Is eve
now In arms against the powers which sought :
foIst tho yoke Of serfdom once more upon tn