214 SCIENCE SKETCHES. 



asleep at his door, insisted on an immediate divi- 

 sion of his personal property, which he was only 

 too willing to grant, and next morning they 

 found themselves in jail, charged with robbery 

 and murder. 



There was again excitement at Issoire. The 

 workingmen held mass-meetings at the Lion d'Or, 

 and passed resolutions of sympathy and defiance. 

 The wives and daughters of the members of the 

 Common Council sent bouquets and baskets of 

 fruit to the prisoners, and the mayor said that he 

 loved them as though they were his own sons. 

 But the law in France is in higher hands than those 

 of the municipality. It is swift and sure. The 

 prisoners were taken to the capital city, Clermont, 

 to be tried. The sympathies of the judge were on 

 the side of capital, and he paid little attention to 

 the plea of organized labor. " If your theory is 

 true," said the judge, "you have no sort of claim 

 on the boots you have demanded from the Presi- 

 dent of the Equitable Confidence Society. All 

 this labor you talk of is simply the moving of 

 things back and forth. How can this confer value? 

 The real work is done by the cow ; and the herds- 

 men on the mountains, who are her heirs and 

 assigns, are the only persons who have a natural 

 lien on the boots which are made from her hide 

 when she is dead. This claim the herdsmen have 

 assigned to capital, and to capital, therefore, all 

 the boots belong." 



It is hard to fight against monopolies. The men 

 were condemned. The red flag was raised in the 

 Golden Lion. A good deal was said, but nothing 



