DIY History | Transcribe | World War I Diaries and Letters | Conger Reynolds correspondence, April-December 1919 | 1919-05-01 Conger Reynolds to John and Emily Reynolds Page 3

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Conger Reynolds correspondence, April-December 1919

1919-05-01 Conger Reynolds to John and Emily Reynolds Page 3

this one day to show capital how strong they are. There were grave possibilities of trouble.  Yet during the morning the streets were as quiet as a church on Tuesday morning.  I never saw them more deserted. Then along the rue Royale a big crowd suddenly gathered.  I thought a riot must have broken loose.  When I got close, however, I found that a little group was taking advantage of the general unrest to get a crowd for their own little comedy.  They were conducting a solid parade up the street, two riding donkeys, one riding a bicylce, one riding a tricycle, and another walking on stilts.  In the afternoon the real trouble did break out.  The socialists wanted to hold a meeting and demonstration in the Place de la Concorde.  Troops have been placed in all the streets leading to the Concorde to prevent their gathering there.  The government was taking no chances; too many revolutions have started there.  Probably if they could have met the socialists would have talked a lot and gone home satisfied.  But of course they didn't like being kept out.  The crowds rushed one line of guards and broke through.  I saw them attack the next--a line of soldiers and policemen.  There was a lot of fighting with bare hands and some use of canes and umbrellas.  Finally the police had to use their sabres and some of the attackers got cut.  I heard that two were killed, but I did not see that.  Anyhow it was just the sort of riot that every American city has occasionally in the course of a strike.  It lasted for a couple of hours and was all over.  Tomorrow everybody will return to work and things will go on as before except that the Government perhaps will give a little more serious consideration to the demands which the demonstrators are making.  Of course there never was a chance of there being a real revolution here.  Paris is not inclined to the Bolsheviki. 
I enjoyed immensely the clippings you sent me and all the news about Uncle William and affairs at home.  Every scrap of information about the folks and scenes of my boyhood memories is doubly interesting to me over here where my daily life is so foreign and unreminiscent of home. 
In case I haven't done it before I want to assure you that you needn't worry about my being away from you so terribly long.  It surely won't be much more than a year or so until I go back to visit anyway.  And maybe after a few months I'll decide that I'd rather work permanently in my own country.  I have long since passed the stage of being fascinated by the mere strangeness of things on this side of the water, and the solid comforts of good old America are not without considerable influence in making me wish often that opportunity did not seem to want to hold me here.
Remember, I think of you heaps, and love you always. 
Yours,
Conger.

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this one day to show capital how strong they are. There were grave possibilities of trouble. Yet during the morning the streets were as quiet as a church on Tuesday morning. I never saw them more deserted. Then along the rue Royale a big crowd suddenly gathered. I thought a riot must have broken loose. When I got close, however, I found that a little group was taking advantage of the general unrest to get a crowd for their own little comedy. They were conducting a solid parade up the street, two riding donkeys, one riding a bicylce, one riding a tricycle, and another walking on stilts. In the afternoon the real trouble did break out. The socialists wanted to hold a meeting and demonstration in the Place de la Concorde. Troops have been placed in all the streets leading to the Concorde to prevent their gathering there. The government was taking no chances; too many revolutions have started there. Probably if they could have met the socialists would have talked a lot and gone home satisfied. But of course they didn't like being kept out. The crowds rushed one line of guards and broke through. I saw them attack the next--a line of soldiers and policemen. There was a lot of fighting with bare hands and some use of canes and umbrellas. Finally the police had to use their sabres and some of the attackers got cut. I heard that two were killed, but I did not see that. Anyhow it was just the sort of riot that every American city has occasionally in the course of a strike. It lasted for a couple of hours and was all over. Tomorrow everybody will return to work and things will go on as before except that the Government perhaps will give a little more serious consideration to the demands which the demonstrators are making. Of course there never was a chance of there being a real revolution here. Paris is not inclined to the Bolsheviki. I enjoyed immensely the clippings you sent me and all the news about Uncle William and affairs at home. Every scrap of information about the folks and scenes of my boyhood memories is doubly interesting to me over here where my daily life is so foreign and unreminiscent of home. In case I haven't done it before I want to assure you that you needn't worry about my being away from you so terribly long. It surely won't be much more than a year or so until I go back to visit anyway. And maybe after a few months I'll decide that I'd rather work permanently in my own country. I have long since passed the stage of being fascinated by the mere strangeness of things on this side of the water, and the solid comforts of good old America are not without considerable influence in making me wish often that opportunity did not seem to want to hold me here. Remember, I think of you heaps, and love you always. Yours, Conger.