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privileges, without favour, and with no particular facilities for
constituting themselves and for keeping themselves alive?

'I say the "Republicans of 1879" advisedly, for you will see, if you
look at page 5 of this delightful Report, that--still according to
Brother Doumer--we really had no republic, in fact, in France till 1879.
These are his own words; "the Republic, having been reconstituted,
(after the fall of the Empire) _first in name_, and afterwards in fact,
a new impulse was given to co-operation. The ill-will towards all
societies of working-men of the Governments of May 21 and of May 16,
retarded the movement. It was only in 1879 that, the wounds of the
country having been healed and liberty reconquered, we had leisure to
occupy ourselves with the question of the organisation of labour."

'Is not this charming? Really, when one remembers what the "wounds of
the country" were in 1871, and how those "wounds" were got first through
the collapse of the wretched Government of the National Defence, and
then through the Commune of Paris, the Governments of May 21 and May 16
may be credited with having done a good piece of work by "healing those
wounds" and by "reconquering liberty." Is not this plain?

'But the "wounds having been healed," and "liberty having been
reconquered," the true Republic, still according to Brother Doumer, was
set free in 1879, to occupy itself with the question of the organisation
of labour. Very good.

'1879! that is ten years ago! And only in 1888 do we find the Republic
really occupying itself, in the person of Brother Doumer, with this
great question, this beautiful and generous idea! How very odd! And what
a strange coincidence that Brother Doumer, elected a deputy by the grace
of the freemasons in 1888, and wishing to be re-elected a deputy by
their grace in 1889, should be the man of destiny called upon to solve
this great question!

'He makes this perfectly plain!

'Two Ministers of Public Works, M. de Freycinet and M. Sadi Carnot,' he
blandly observes, 'studied measures which might be taken in view of
facilitating the concession to societies of working-men of certain
public works!

'Ah! This is hard upon M. de Freycinet and M. Sadi Carnot, now President
of the ideal Republic! They "studied," did they, "measures which might
be taken"! But they never took any such measures! Oh, no! not they!'

'So the first year of the "true Republic" went by, and still
co-operation lan