30 31 THE WORKERS COUNCIL THE WORKERS COUNCIL APRIL 15, 1921.
APRIL 15, 1921.
puts it: at the abolition of the pawn shops themselves, which minds and the mere talkers who frequently apwere in opposition to the right of the worker to peared on the scene. Whenever there was an imthe instruments of labor and to credit. The liquida portant question to be decided, long discussions tion of the pawn shops was to be followed by the and hot debates would take place, so that actually regulation of unemployment. The victims of the one could gain the impression that the Commune war, and the needy and helpless were paid voluntary was not only without a program but even without pensions from the public treasury. The social char guiding principles.
acter of the Commune became more apparent from But strong as were the internal dissensions and day to day, or, as the pamphlet on the Civil War violent as was the struggle of various factions for Its own existence as a working body leadership, the spirit of the workers prevailed and constituted its great social measure. Besides all asserted itself throughout. The workers impressed this, however, the political measures of the Com their stamp upon the Commune. And just as it is mune likewise assured the working class freedom sufficient for an accurate answer to the question of of movement. The state of siege was at once lifted whether the commune was actually and essentially and a general amnesty declared for all political a government of the working class, to point to the crimes and offenses. Church and state were strictly decrees of the Commune, so the government at separated. The clerical estates were transformed Versailles with the unerring instinct of ruling into national property, the support of church organ classes for maintaining their positions of power, izations by the public treasury ceased. The church recognized on the very first day the fundamental was separated from the schools, and the latter were difference of the new and the old power and the cleansed of all religious symbols, dogmas and pray total incompatibility of the two forms. The old ers. complete revolution of marriage and family government with its headquarters at Versailles at rights was contained in the provisions recognizing once called a strike of all officials, in order to deal as binding any union of a man and woman living the Commune a death blow at its very beginning, together as mates and paying all soldier widows and the upper bureaucracy willingly responded. As alike regardless of the form in which the marriage at a common signal the various administrationshad been consummated. The Commune burned the city tax bureau, roads commission, street lighting guillotine and tore down the Vendome column an department, public charities, postal and telegraph act that constituted a declaration of war against the service ceased to function. The trade halls, the entire nationalistic tradition that famous symbol markets, all the intricate digestive and respiratory of war and radical persecution which Napoleon organs of the great metropolis suddenly became had made out of captured cannon after his victory paralyzed. The example of the officials was folover Austria in 1809. Foreigners enjoyed all the Iowed by a part of the bourgeois population, like the rights of citizenship. Foreigners even held im physicians and a portion of the professional perportant posts in the Commune, since the flag of sonnel of the hospitals. But within two days this the Commune is that of the world republic, a decla manoevre was completely played out, due to the ration of principles that was of greater import and energy of the Commune and the readiness of the significance than any that had heretofore been lesser officials and the petty bourgeois elements to uttered by any revolution.
co operate.
But the Commune went on to change funda What stand did the Commune take in connecmentally the entire machinery of state and admin. tion with the war? The traditional revolutionary istration. The military and the police disappeared, conception of France would have demanded a deThe standing army and conscription were abolished fense of the inviolability of the national territory.
and the national guard declared the only a ithorized But with the conclusion of peace on the part of the armed force. The Commune held supreme power, bourgeoisie the question of the war was likewise being at the same time a legislative and an execusettled as far as the proletariat was concerned. In tive organ, not a parliamentarian but a working view of the desire of the bourgeoisie and the peasbody. All offices had to be administrered on labor antry for peace and in view of the exhaustion of ers pay, thus avoiding once and for all the danger the petty bourgeois, any attempt to resume the deof reviving a bureaucratic class.
fensive struggle would have encountered the united opposition of all France. The Commune adapted The bourgeois class and the members and adher itself to this situation. In its very first declaration ents of the old government became enraged at this the Commune declared that it considered the war state of affairs. This Commune was not only a at an end and that its only dispute now was with workers government, it constituted the worst viola Versailles. The future universal world republic of the tion of the rights of citizenship, an abuse of political proletariat, it was assumed, would eventually cope power. This Communism was nothing more than with the policy of conquest of Bismarck. And so barbarism and savagery, this rule of the rabble in the call for the Commune acquired a new and reality the tyranny imposed by an insignificant min. changed significance. Paris in arms and the rapidly ority over deluded, ignorant masses. This rage of arming forces of reaction stood facing one another the bourgeoisie is the most effective answer to the on the hard ground of power and reality.
doubts that have been occasionally expressed as to The Paris Commune, surrounded though it was whether the Commune was actually a working class by a world of enemies, nevertheless permitted itself government, as the memorial on the Civil War de to commit two fatal errors. It neglected the necesclares. Reference is usually made to the large num sary military safeguards and omitted the seizure of ber of petty bourgeois individuals among the mem the Bank of France. The troops of the Versailles bers of the Commune as well as to the confused government were permitted to withdraw in full force and completely armed from Paris; important stra the foreign foe to the bourgeois government of tegic posts were left unguarded; the organization France, because of the unrestrained animosity of of the defense was placed in incompetent and un the rural population, because of the unwillingness dependable hands; there was no definite plan against to co operate and the indecision of the workers and Versailles. The Bank of France at that time pos petty bourgeoisie of the other French cities.
It sessed a capital of three billion francs besides failed not because the economic status of the coun90, 000 deposits. The seizure of this institution try had not attained sufficient maturity, but because would have delivered the entire bourgeoisie of the re classification of society, conditioned by the France into the hands of the Commune and might methods of production, had not yet developed in a possibly have caused the government at Versailles sufficient degree, because the industrial worker had to plead for negotiations. Even the adherents of not yet acquired a position of sufficient strength in Proudhon in the Commune seemed to have forgotten society to remain permanently in power. The Comthat their master had placed at the head of his inune failed because it was impossible for it to program the demand for the suppression of the Bank conquer.
of France.
Without number were the victims who died in The prisons, for after the defeat of the Commune there broke out a perfect orgy of justice. ThousOn April 2, the Versailles government was al ands were sent away to the watery wastes of the ready prepared to begin its attack upon Paris. An Pacific Ocean. When the parliament ended its term attempted sally of the Communards failed, and only in 1876 it shortened a few prison sentences and a few days later the government troops forced the granted 600 pardons. This was the extent of its passage at Neuilly, Beginning with May 6th, Paris inercy. And when the new Chamber with its repubwas again inclosed on all sides, as in the days of lican majority went into session, it too refused amthe German siege. On May 9th the first of the forts nesty to the Communards. And as late as the winter surrendered, on the 14th the second fell; eight days of that year the military courts tried cases and inlater the Versailles troops set foot upon the ground flicted death penalties for participation in the May of the city itself. Then began the street fighting battles. And yet the bourgeoisie spilled the blood The struggle became more bitter day by day. Then of the people in vain; in vain did they condemn inthe Prussians opened the neutral zo they were numerable youths and aged men to rot in prison occupying, enabling the troops of Versailles to at hells, in vain did they deliver women and girls into tack the Communards in the rear and flank. The the hands of the Bagno of New Caledonia. From last struggle was the more intense for its hopeless the graves of these thousands have sprouted all the ness. It was only on the eighth day that the last de more profusely and richly the seeds of revolution, fenders succumbed on the heights of Belleville and and out of the blood and flames and smoking ruins Menilmontant. The government troops instituted a of Paris, that mother of the European Revolution, terrible massacre. Whoever was caught in the na arose the reality of proletarian dictatorship, of the tional guard uniform, whoever wore army shoes, free Commune, lighting its inextinguishable fires whoever showed on his clothing traces of military in every corner of the globe.
facings since ripped off, was shot at once. The rifles (To be concluded)
of the soldiers were not equal to the bloody task.
So the prisoners were gathered in crowds and finished off by means of artillery fire. The citizens guard appeared on the scene the national guard of the forces of law and order showing off their armbands as a mark of honor for being permitted to direct the executions. Toward the end of the struggle, the Prussians surrounded the hunted game.
Their officers drove back to the executioners all those soldiers of the federated legions who attempted to cross the line. This mass slaughter lasted until the early days of June, the summary executions well into the middle of the month. The military admitted 17, 000 executions. From May 21 to May 30, the representatives of law and order gathered some 40, 000 prisoners, including numerous women and children. There were counted no less than 400, 000 denunciations, of which a large share may be credited to the press. The press rejoiced that there are 100, 000 voters less than there were in the February elections! And Thiers stood up proudly in the national assembly to announce: We are honest people. Law will be administered according to the common statutes. We shall have recourse only to the law.
The Commune lay shattered and lifeless on the ground. It failed because of the support given by Revolution GASTORI 0 1o TIM טL RACERS