The Washington herald., 1915-05-16

| Ministries. therefore. arc chosen and
! ma iutained only by compromise. by the
merging of groups into what is called a
, bloc, SI1ch as now governs the cOun-
/ try. When som" problem rises to split
one of thoS" ZOOS" leagues. the ministry
falls between. Then there is Il 'Crisis." "
! That word used unduly to alarm tn"
unlocking nations. But French crisis
is not SO critical as il sounds in the ears
, Of E:nGlish-speakins folk. For the fall az
a cabinet does not mean quit" tho same
, thing in Franc" as in England. and I
resembles nothing in American politics.
An American cabinet is independent of
Congress and retires only with the Presi-
I dent. whereupon there is likely to be
4 clean sweep throughout all places of
| authority in the Government. When an
! English cabinet resigns. il is ofteneSt fol-
! lowed by the dissolution of parliament
and an exciting general election In
France, though cabinets fall. the two
chambers sit on through their appointed
terms and continue to control the policies
Of tn" nation. while the permanent, work.
| ing stats of the great departments arc
virtually untouched by the change OF
chiefs.
\ Helpless President.
The French method is less democratic
than the English. whose representatives
in Parliament are wont to appeal to the
people when there is a change of cabi-
nets. But the French President is far
more democratic than the American.
or the 1feSlOtnt Oh rance HAS no
more power than the King of England.
and is even worse off, since he neither
rules nor reisns.
The Third Republic took good care
that there should be no such monarchal
executive in the, ElySec as there is in
the White House. France patterned af-
ter the United States in her two former
republics and each time she found her
self in the grasp of a Napoleon.
Elected by the two houses jointly. all
the Presidents authority is nullified ny
the simple stipulation that no act of his
shall he valid unless countersigned by
a member of the cabinet. That condi-
ton makes him only the instrument
the rubber stamp-of the ministry. and
leaves him the mere figurehead on the
bow of the Ship Of State. He has $4,000
light thrown in. and flowers and vege-
tables free. But he cannot hire or
fire. sub project.
While the pomp of positions and out
riders marks the Presidents drives
abroad. a queer institution known as le
Protocol tells him when and where he
may drive in state. when he must wear
a frock and when a dress coat. when he
of Honor and when only the simple ro-
sette- when and where he shall go to
the theater. to whom he shall give his
hand and to whom only a nod. with
whom he shall dine and what they shall
have to eat. and It makes a manikin
of him generally on all ceremonious oc-
casions.
The Third Republic has lived and
thrived on the weakness of its servants:
on the avoidance. of strong men,"
President Poincaire. for example. Is one
of the few really prominent and forcible
men who have been riskcd in the Presi-
dency. but he lost much of his force II
not his prominence when he was kicked
upstairs"
The Men Who Run the Machine.
Slowly. cautiously. step by step. France
has thrown off the shackles of mon
archical institutions. The monarchist
President was not forced out until 1879.
when Macmahon yielded to the plain
mandate of the voters and resigned.
Such elementary liberties as the freedom
of the press and of public assemblage
We're not gained until as late as 1881 and
the freedom of laborers to organize was
not recognized until 1884.
1t is this casual development of the
republic which has made II stronger
than its two Republican predecessors.
They were produced by spontaneous COM
bustion. But the Third Republic Is the
output OF the evolutionary rather than
OF the revolutionary process. like the
political institutions of the English
speaking peoples, who are the pioneers
in representative government and In
democracy.
In its slow growth. the republic Is ma
turing late. Meanwhile season by sea-
son. its roots have spread through
wide field OF national experience and
are now deep In the earth OF France.
All the time the government has been