Endnotes

¹ For the International Paris Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900.

² “Shabble of a Duke” is an expression coined by Carlyle; it is a somewhat free rendering of Kropotkine’s “Monsieur le Vicomte,” but I think it expresses his meaning. — Trans.

³ The municipal debt of Paris amounted in 1904 to 2,266,579,100 francs, and the charges for it were 121,000,000 francs.

⁴ Kropotkine is here supposing the Revolution to break out first in France. — Trans.

⁵ The decree of the 30 March: by this decree rents due up to the terms of October, 1870, and January and April, 1871, were annulled.

⁶ We know this from Playfair, who mentioned it at Joule’s death.

⁷ It seems that the Communists of Young Icaria had understood the importance of a free choice in their daily relations apart from work. The ideal of religious Communists has always been to have meals in common; it is by meals in common that early Christians manifested their adhesion to Christianity. Communion is still a vestige of it. Young Icarians had given up this religious tradition. They dined in a common dining-room, but at small separate tables, at which they sat according to the attractions of the moment. The Communists of Amana have each their house and dine at home, while taking their provisions at will at the communal stores.

⁸ See my book, “In Russian and French Prisons.” London 1887

⁹ Consult “La Répartition métrique des impôts,” by A. Toubeau, two vols., published by Guillaumin in 1880. (We do not in the least agree with Toubeau’s conclusions, but it is a real encyclopædia, indicating the sources which prove what can be obtained from the soil.) “La Culture maraîchere,” by M. Ponce, Paris, 1869. “Le Potager Gressent,” Paris, 1885, an excellent practical work. “Physiologie et culture du blé,” by Risler, Paris, 1881. “Le blé, sa culture intensive et extensive,” by Lecouteux, Paris, 1883. “La Cité Chinoise,” by Eugène Simon. “Le dictionnaire d’agriculture,” by Barral (Hachette, editor). “The Rothamstead Experiments,” by Wm. Fream, London, 1888 — culture without manure, etc. (the “Field” office, editor). “Fields, Factories, and Workshops,” by the author. London (Swan Sonnenschein); cheap editions at 6d. and 1s.

¹⁰ Summing up the figures given on agriculture, figures proving that the inhabitants of the two départements of Seine and Seine-et-Oise can perfectly well live on their own territory by employing very little time annually to obtain food, we have:

     DEPARTMENTS OF SEINE AND SEINE-ET-OISE

Areas to be cultivated to feed the inhabitants (in acres):

Quantity of annual work necessary to improve and cultivate the above surfaces in five-hour work-days:

If we suppose that half only of the able-bodied adults (men and women) are willing to work at agriculture, we see that 70 million work-days must be divided among 1,200,000 individuals, which gives us 58 work-days of 5 hours for each of these workers. With that the population of the two departments would have all necessary bread, meat, milk, vegetables, and fruit, both ordinary and luxury. To-day a workman spends for the necessary food of his family (generally less than what is necessary) at least one-third of his 300 work-days a year, about 1000 hours be it, instead of 290. That is, he thus gives about 700 hours too much to fatten the idle and the would-be administrators, because he does not produce his own food, but buys it of middlemen, who in their turn buy it of peasants who exhaust themselves by working with bad tools, because, being robbed by the landowners and the State, they cannot procure better ones.