Evening star., 1925-11-27
BY FRANK III. SIMONDS.

The present passing of Painleve al
most recalls the similar situation of
1917 and discloses again the disastrous
consequences of the promotion to
premier of a man whose eminence in
science is only equaled by his
ineptitude in politics. All dispatches
emphasize his title as the greatest
mathematician in the world, but I
recall now the grim comment of
Clemenceau made to me last Spring,
when Painleve was about to take
office.
THE more I see of Painleve, the
happier I am I know nothing
about mathematics Thus, "the
Tiger" expressed his contempt for
the man whose weakness was re-
sponsible for his own arrival as
premier and dictator of France in the
critical days of 1917 when the defeat
of the French army at the Aisne had
at last shaken it's morale and defait
iSme was rife.
Unhappily, France has now no
leader as capable of dealing with
financial disaster as Clemenceau was
with military and political weakness.
Painleve really staked his political
success upon the triumph of Caillaux
in solving the financial problem. But
quite characteristically not through
treachery but mere weakness, threw
him over when his proposals awaken
ed opposition in Painleve's following.
X X \
The trouble with the French
political situation now is two-fold. In
the first place France has no first
rate man. Secondly, the best men
available belong on the whole. to the
minority and are not merely OF the
minority but are for the moment, at
least, discredited by reason of the fact
that they undertook a coercive policy
toward Germany. France profoundly
desires peace with Germany and ap-
proves the policy of BRAND under
both the Herriot and Painleve govern
ments, the policy which is expressed
in the Locarno pacts.
BRAND has for a long time been
indicated" as the French say. But
BRAND is not in the least interested
in finance His field is foreign poll.
tics, and recently he has been most
brilliantly successful. In all human
probability the laurels won at Locarno
would wither promptly were he to un.
dertake the impossible task Of solving
the French financial difficulties. And
BRAND is not only a great foreign
minister, but he is also superb poll
tician.
X X X +
His political philosophy is disclosed
in a comment he is reported to nave
made to Mussolini while In Rome a
year ago. Mussolini asked him how
he had managed to be prime minister
seven or eight times, and BRAND re-
piled:
''You see, it is this way: / do not
care for office, What I like is to be
the coming man. So, just as soon as
1 have to take office 1 try to get out
as soon as possible. The man in office
is finished, but to be the coming man
that is everything" Mussolini, by the
way, Is reported to have been far from
pleased by this explanation.
Now BRAND has been the coming
man for two years, but in Office he
would face all the difficulties which
have brought down both Herriot and
Painleve. The French trouble lies ir
the fact that the country is very
strongly in favor of the pacific foreign
policy of the last two governments
and similarly opposed to the foreign
policy of Poincare and of Millerand
On the other hand. the country is also
far more conservative than either the
Painleve or the Herriot government
in domestice questions.
But the majority in the Chamber
as contrasted with national sentiment
Is radical. A working majority Of the