Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 May 1892 — RAVACHOL NOT TO DIE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RAVACHOL NOT TO DIE.

THE ANARCHIST LEADER SENTENCED FOR LIFE. He Avowh and Glories In His Crimes. Professing Zeal for the People as His Motive —Faris In a State of Great Excitement. • * The Prison for Reds. The trial of Ravachol, alias a halfdozen other names; Charles Achille Simon, alias “Biscuit;" Jao Beala, alias Joseph Marius; Charles Ferdinand Chaumartin; and the girl Rosalie Sougere was held at the Seine Assizes Court in Paris. The judges had been warned not j to convict Ravachol, and no one was ; anxious to occupy the bench during the i trial. So many threats had been made I that friends of the prisoners would at- ' tempt some desperate act to either free the accused or prevent the trial, that admission to the court-room was severely restricted. Only those personally known to the court officials and .the twenty-two witnesses were admitted. The prisoners were charged with causing the explosions at the residence of Judge Benoit, 136 Boulevard St. Germain, and at the residence of the public prosecutor, Bulot, at the corner of the Rue Clichy and the Gue de Berlin. They were also charged with attempting to blow up the police commissariat at Clichy.

The most elaborate preparations were taken by the authorities to guard against any attempt to interfere with the course of justice. The guards about the Palais de Justice were redoubled, and every part of the approaches to the building was watched closely. Only detectives and policeman could be seen in the corridors and elsewhere in the interior of the building. The attendance in the court-room was confined to the witnesses, officials, detectives, and journalists. When Judge Gues entered he at once summoned the jury, who, it must be said, presented a greatly disturbed appearance. After the jurors had taken

their places, the prisoners, headed by Bavaehol, were brought in. They were guarded by a large squad of police. When the reading of the indictment was concluded Judge Gues examined Bavaehol concerning the murders which It was charged he committed, and also concerning the explosions. Ravachol in a nonchalant manner admitted his guilt and took upon himself the entire responsibility for the Boulevard St. Germain and the Hue Clichy explosions. When questioned as to his motives for causing the explosionsffilavachol replied: “I felt a feeling of unfeigned anger at the conviction of Le Valloirand Perret. I do not think that Benoit and Bulot should have demanded the death of the fathers of families. Then, again, the brutality of the police when they arrested my comrades revolted my conscience, and I determined upon revenge. In regard to the St. Germain explosion, I loaded a bomb that contained sixty cartridges. I dressed myself in broadcloth, and went to Benoit’s house without attracting any attention. After depositing the machine and lighting the fuse I ran down stairs and reached the pavement just as the explosion occurred. The operatfbn in the Rue Clichy was much the same, only I carried the bomb in a bag. A portion of the powder became displaced, and thus rendered it extremely dangerous to light the bomb, as it might explode in an instant. But I did not hesitate to take the risk." Ravaehol concluded his remarks with an exposition of his theories. He said: “I wish to see anarchy established and the whole people as one great family, each member ready to share what he has with his brethren. I committed those outrages in order to draw the attention of the public to the needs of the anarchists." Simon was next examined, but no new revelations were obtained from him. He admitted his complicity in the outrages. Chaumartin said when questioned that Ravachol stole from Soissy the cartridges which he intended to use in blowing up the palace of justice. The other two prisoners tried to exculpate themselves. The witnesses were then called, and their testimony corroborated all the details oj the crime as set forth in the indictment. M. Beaupaire, the public prosecutor, in his address to the jury declared that the prisoners were disciples of the famous bandit Claude Duval, and equaled if not excelled him in the daring manner in which their acts of outlawry were performed and in their utter disregard of all established laws. He said that they had not sought to convert the people to their opinions, but to terrorize them and to subject them to their will by placing them in a state of abject fear. The prosecutor caused a sensation when he read a letter from a Belgian magistrate informing him that anarchists were sending cartridges to Paris. He concluded by calling upon the. jury to return a verdict against Ravachol and Simon without any recommendation of mercy and to return a severe verdict against Beala. In regard to Chaumartin he left the jury to bring in a verdict in accordance with, the evidence. “Regarding Rosalie Sougere,” he said,“consult your hearts and consciences.” Ravachol and Simon were found guilty and sentenced to penal servitude for life. The other prisoners were acquitted.

RAVACHOL.