第807章

But that is not enough. In order that each Frenchman may obtain his bit of bread every day， it is still essential that grain should reach the markets in sufficient quantities， and that the bakers should every day have enough flour to make all the bread that is required；moreover， the bread offered for sale in the bakeries should not exceed the price which the majority of consumers can afford to pay. Now， in fact， through a forced result of the new system， neither of these conditions is fulfilled. - In the first place， wheat， and hence bread， is too dear. Even at the old rate， these would still be too dear for the innumerable empty or half-empty purses， after so many attacks on property， industry and trade， now that so many hundreds of workmen and employees are out of work， now that so many land-owners and bourgeois receive no rents， now that incomes， profits， wages and salaries have diminished by hundreds of thousands. But wheat， and， consequently， bread， has not remained at old rates. Formerly a sack of wheat in Paris was worth 50 francs. In February， 1793， it is worth sixty-five francs； in May， 1793， one hundred francs and then one hundred and fifty； and hence bread， in Paris， early in 1793， instead of being three sous the pound， costs six sous， in many of the southern departments seven and eight sous， and in other places ten and twelve sous.[21] The reason is， that， since August 10， 1792， after the King's fall and the wrenching away of the ancient keystone of the arch which still kept the loosened stones of the social edifice in place， the frightened peasant would no longer part with his produce； he determined not to take assignats， not to let his grain go for anything but ringing coin. To exchange good wheat for bad， dirty paper rags seemed to him a trick， and justly so， for， on going to town every month he found that the dealers gave him less merchandise for these rags. Being distrustful and a hoarder， he must have good， old fashioned crowns， with the ancient effigy， so as to lay them away in a jar or old woollen stocking； give him specie or he will keep his grain. For he is not， as formerly， obliged to part with it as soon as it is cut， to pay taxes and rent； the bailiff and sheriff are no longer there to constrain him； in these times of disorder and demagoguism， under impotent or partial authorities， neither the public nor the private creditor has the power to compel payment， while the spurs which formerly impelled the farmer to seek the nearest market are blunted or broken. He therefore stays away， and he has excellent reasons for so doing. Vagabonds and the needy stand by the roadside and at the entrances of the towns to stop and pillage the loaded carts； in the markets and on the open square， women cut open bags of grain with their scissors and empty them， or the municipality， forced to do it by the crowd， fixes the price at a reduced rate.[22] - The larger a town， the greater the difficulty in supplying its market； for its provisions are drawn from a distance； each department， each canton， each village keeps its own grain for itself by means of legal requisitions or by brutal force； it is impossible for wholesale dealers in grain to make bargains； they are styled monopolists， and the mob， breaking into their storehouses， hangs them out of preference.[23] As the government， accordingly， has proclaimed their speculations "crimes，" it is going to interdict their trade and substitute itself for them.[24] - But this substitution only increases the penury still more； in vain do the towns force collections， tax their rich men， raise money on loan， and burden themselves beyond their resources；[25] they only make the matter worse. When the municipality of Paris expends twelve thousand francs a day for the sale of flour at a low price in the markets， it keeps away the flour-dealers， who cannot deliver flour at such low figures； the result is that there is not flour enough in the market for the six hundred thousand mouths in Paris； when it expends seventy-five thousand francs daily to indemnify the bakers， it attracts the outside population， which rushes into Paris to get bread cheap， and for the seven hundred thousand mouths of Paris and the suburbs combined， the bakers have not an adequate supply. Whoever comes late finds the shop empty；consequently， everybody tries to get there earlier and earlier， at dawn， before daybreak， and then five or six hours before daybreak. in February， 1793， long lines of people are already waiting at the bakers' door， these lines growing longer and longer in April， while in June they are enormously long.[26] Naturally， for lack of bread， people fall back on other aliments， which also grow dearer； add to this the various contrivances and effects of Jacobin politics which still further increase the dearness of food of all sorts， and also of every other necessary article： for instance， the extremely bad condition of the roads， which renders transportation slower and more costly； the prohibition of the export of coin and hence the obtaining of food from abroad； the decree which obliges each industrial or commercial association， at present or to come， to " pay annually into the national treasury one-quarter of the amount of its dividends；" the revolt in Vendée， which deprives Paris of six hundred oxen a week； the feeding of the armies， which takes one-half of the cattle brought to the Poissy market； shutting off the sea and the continent， which ruins manufacturers and extensive commercial operations； the insurrections in Bordeaux， Marseilles and the South， which still further raise the price of groceries， sugar， soap， oil， candles， wine and brandy.[27] -Early in 1793， a pound of beef in France is worth on the average， instead of six sous twenty sous； in May， at Paris， brandy which， six months before， cost thirty-five sous， costs ninety-four sous； in July， a pound of veal， instead of five sous， costs twenty-two sous. Sugar， from twenty sous， advances to four francs ten sous； a candle costs seven sous. France， pushed on by the Jacobins， approaches the depths of misery， entering the first circle of its Inferno； other circles follow down deeper and deeper， narrower still and yet more somber；under Jacobin impulsion is she to descend to the lowest？