Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-10-17
PREM|ER BRAND
Of FRANCE WILL
RENDER ACCOUNT
Of STEWARDSHIP
French Parliament VIII Re-
convene Tuesday After
Taking a Vacation During
the Summer Months,
PRIME MINISTER WILL
DELIVER AN ADDRESS
Paramount Question Is
Whether the Members
viii Give Him a Vote Of
Confidence or Let Him Out
BY WILLIAM BIRD.

tSpccUH Ndnld 10 MORNING tOHFtNtI
Copyright 1921 by Albuquerque .ournab
Paris, oct. 16.--The French
parliament reconvenes Tuesday.
The first thing on the calendar IS
an opening speech by Prime Minis
ter BRAND, giving an account OF
his stewardship during the sum-
mer vacation, and the most inter-
estjng question is whether the
parliament will give a vote OF con-
fidence, or will overthrow his gov
ernment and call on another TO
form the ministry.
1t Is pretty generally agreed that
IL the parliament had reconvenet
Immediately after the August SUI
preme council meeting in Paris,
Mr.. BRAND would have been
turned out. But the intervening
period has given passions time TO
cool and the rage against BRAND
is turned into a question-"Who
can take his place." Thus BRAND
is in much the same position as
Lloyd before the British
commons; he really has not
compact majority in his favor, but
on the other hand there is no COM
pact majority against him.
In Office Since January.
NJ BRAND Las been in office
since January, which is a long
time for French premier to hold
the reins. Thus the law of aver
ages argues for an early down.
fall. But the post st-war politics are
a different thing from pre-war pol
itics. Such changes have come
about that precedents cannot be
depended upon and surprises are
quite the normal thing to expect.
To understand the present sit
uation, go back to 1905, when, af-
ter a bitter struggle lasting sew
eral years, tho law of separation
of church and state was voted. Up
to that time all the churches IN
France were supported by the gov
ernment-Protesta and Hebrew,
as we'll as Roman Catholic. The
separation law deprived these
churches Of their real property
and thti subyentions fsom the
state treasury. which consisted
largely In salaries to bishops,
priests, pastors, rabbis etc.
The Church suffered.
or course the Roman Catholic
church was the chief sufferer, for
the other sects are not numerous
and the total subvention they enc
joyed was relatively small The
separation law was carried through
chiefly by a party called the radi-
cal--socialist, but the name re-
quires some explanation to Amer
leans, accustomed to think of rad
icals as extreme reds"
AS q matter Of fact, radicals
in European politics--in England,
as well as in France-are merely
reformers who think they have got
to the "root' of things with their
programs. In France the root" OF
all evil was held by this party to
be the tie between church and
state, and so "radicalism" came 30
be largely q synonym for anti
clerlcalism. The suffix Socialist"
was adopted pretty much as n
vote-catcher, for the radicals"
realized that they could not put
their program through without
the support of the socialist, the
traditional enemies of ecclesiasti-
cal domination.
There is no doubt that the sepa-
ration was overwhelmingly approx
ed bv the French people, but the
minority, consisting OF clericals
and royalists. conducted a violent
opposition to the measure and con-
tinued their propaganda long after
the law was passed. Thus the re-
ligious issue perpetuated itself. and
the French electorate kept the
radicals" In power pretty con-
stantly for fourteen. years. as a
guarantee against return to
church domination.
Elections Every Five Years.
French parliamentar. elections
Continued on Page Two)