The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-03-25
The Day OF Reckoning PA, on.

erty scandals is attributed To various
Temporary causes First. the nearness
Of the ELECTIONS to Parliament, for none
Of the candidates. particularly those be-
longing To the radical groups that make
up the present majority, would care
20 present themselves to their electors
while an investigation involving the
Government was in progress Secondly.
the consciousness that, whatever frauds
have been perpetrated. they cannot be
fastened specifically upon NJ. BRANDS
Ministry, but go back, like the naval
mismanagement and peculaiiOn which
NJ. CLEMENCEAU declined TO shoulder.
indefinitely and involve all who have
held power for ten years past.
Stronger than either 81 these motives
for passing over a public scandal for
the time being mus, be the feeling.
which seems widespread in the Parlis-
ment A. well ~ ont Of il. that should the
whole u7Ith become known II will ~
in the Panama case strike men who at
present enjoy the best of regulations
and who are wholly unsupported. A.
after few victims among the less guilty
had been found to satisfy in part the de-
mands ~ the public for justice and due
punishment. 80 in this broader instance
Of plunderinG public property IL may
he expected that the efforts 81 the leg
ialature and the courts will be directed
to suppres~ing the evidence that may
strike shining marks and to Withholding
names that are well known rather than
TO eliciting the true facta. This seems
the moro likely because some part Of
the robbery has been committed under
cover Of legal forms, such a. are the
common plague Of dealings with public
property: excessive feee for legal ser
vices. for appraisals and condemnation
proceedings, for referees, preposterous
salaries To needless officials. and 40 on.
There IL strong suspicion, TOO. that
the Conservatives and Clericals are
mono too anxious 10 have light thrown
on what has happened II il believed
that in some cases at least VI. CoMBEs's
Oriental methods of confiscation have
be~n met by the friends Of the Church
with the tactics that are customary in
the I,evant 10 mitigate tyrannOus exac-
tiona and are not wholly unknown in the
heavily taxed more southern Latin cOun-
tries, an understanding between the
officials and the victims. They have
learned from TartSfe that On trouve
avec retat des Accomplishments, and by
paving gratuities satisfactory TO the
officials have bought back the property
Of which the Church was stripped AZ
much less than it, appraised value. The
morality Of such transactions may be
doubtful and will hardly bear the inves-
tigation Of the courts; IL will be judged
leniently. however, by many who can
not understand the iniauity Of COM
pounding felony II they can thereby
get back the goods 81 which they have
been robbed. II will be a shock to the
French people " it il found that many
officials have been involved. for while
the French bureaucracy II looked upon
"a stupid, arrogant and bound UP in red
tape, IL has also been regarded a. not
corrupt.
Admitting that there has been reck-
/ leas waste and some fraudulent Collss-
sion with inferior officials. there remains
nevertheless an enormous discrepancy
between the appraised value Of the con-
nscased property and the sums turned
in to the State treasury; IL is measured
by hundreds Of millions Of francs. In
the case Of DuEZ, who has made a
partial confession, IL turns out that he
was an inferior employee. appointed N
irrexularly that he could not be prose-
c,Ited a. an Official. but only a. com
mon embezzler Before his appoint
ment, he declares. he had stolen 10000
francs from his predecessor without his
knowing il. II taxes French credulity
to be told that tho peruuisites, lawful
and illegitimate. OF a great seculari-
cation Of property, comparable only tO
thoee Of the French Revolution or Of the
Tudors IN England. should be handed
over to subordinate clerks whose imag-
nation can evoke only the stock ex-
change A. the pit which has swallowed
UP the stolen millions they confess to.
For the much larger sums that have
disappeared they have given no explain
ation - far; il il hut natural IN expect
that when they do talk they will tell
who the men higher up are. They
may lie. Of course. but accusations made
under such circumstances stick. and M
man in public life in France can feel
safe. There was M cleaner msn in
French politics than NJ. RoUvIER, and
ne could never remove the stain IT tho
Panama accusations.
Nothing will he done about the mat
ter till after the April elections: Il
may he that little will he done then.
Meanwhile France NAV study an out
side view 81 the morality II one phase
Of the Church conhscatiOn. the judg-
meDt of the highest court in Great
Britain on the Chartreuse trade mark
The infiexible W. CoMBYs. having de-
cideh tn extirpate everything Catholic
/ IN France. good or bad. could not he