第822章

Words are wanting to describe the sufferings of these long lines of motionless beings， during the night， at daybreak， standing there five or six hours， with the blast driving through their rags and their feet freezing. - Vent？se is beginning， and the ration of bread is reduced to a pound and a half；[138] Vent？se ends， and the ration of bread， kept at a pound and a half for the three hundred and twenty-four laborers， falls to one pound； in fact， a great many get none at all， many only a half and a quarter of a pound. Germinal follows and the Committee of Public Safety， finding that its magazines are giving out， limits all rations to a quarter of a pound. Thereupon， on the 12th of Germinal， an insurrection of workmen and women breaks out； the Convention is invaded and liberated by military force. Paris is declared in a state of siege and the government， again in the saddle， tightens the reins. Thenceforth， the ration of meat served out every four or five days， is a quarter of a pound； bread averages every day， sometimes five， sometimes six and sometimes seven ounces， at long intervals eight ounces， often three， two and one ounce and a half， or even none at all； while this bread， black and "making mischief，"becomes more and more worthless and detestable.[139] People who are well off live on potatoes， but only for them， for， in the middle of Germinal， these cost fifteen francs the bushel and， towards the end， twenty francs； towards the end of Messidor， forty-five francs； in the first month of the Directory， one hundred and eighty francs， and then two hundred and eighty-four francs， whilst other produce goes up at the same rates. - After the abolition of the "maximum " the evil springs not from a lack of provisions， but from their dearness： the shops are well supplied. Whoever comes with a full purse gets what he wants[140]： The former rich， the property owners and large capitalists， may eat on the condition that they hand their bundles of assignats over， that they withdrawing their last louis from its hiding-place， that they sell their jewelry， clocks， furniture and clothes. And the nouveaux rich， the speculators， the suppliers， the happy and extravagant robbers， spend four hundred， one thousand， three thousand， then five thousand francs for their dinner， and revel in the great eating establishments on fine wines and exquisite cheer： the burden of the scarcity is transferred to other shoulders. - At present， the class which suffers， and which suffers beyond all bounds of patience is， together with employees and people with small incomes，[141] the crowd of workmen， the City plebeians， the low Parisian populace* which lives from day to day， * which is Jacobin at heart， * which made the Revolution in order to better itself， * which finds itself worse off， * which gets up one insurrection more on the 1st of Prairial， * which forcibly enters the Tuileries yelling "Bread and the Constitution of '93，"* which installs itself as sovereign in the Convention， * which murders the Representative Féraud， * which decrees a return to Terror， but which， put down by the National Guard， disarmed and forced back into lasting obedience， has only to submit to the consequences of its own outrages， the socialism it has itself instituted and the economical system it itself has organized.

Because the workers of Paris have been usurpers and tyrants they are now beggars. Owing to the ruin brought on proprietors and capitalists by them， individuals can no longer employ them. Owing to the ruin they have brought on the Treasury， the State can provide them with only the semblance of charity， and hence， while all are compelled to go hungry， a great many die， and many commit suicide.