Evening star., 1926-02-16

Once more the French are crying,
Ills ne passeront pas for the adj
|ministration Of Premier BRAND is max
ing a last desperate stand against rad
atism on the other. BRAND asserts
with all the firmness of the Verdun
heroes, They shall not pass
Cartel of comparatively irresponsible
deputies of the Chamber shall not re-
gain control Of the government.
France has been rent by extremists
the Radical Socialists pulling to-
ward experimental extremes or gov
ernment ownership Of all enterprise
and industry, and OF antagonism 10
capital, while the Conservatives have
been unwilling to concede anythin"
toward compromise. The result has
been a continued procession Of chang
ing administrations with none holding
the support of safe majority.
1t has been the policy of Premier
BRAND to attempt to harmonize the
m ore reasonable members OF both eX-
tremes and the Center, but at no time
has he been very strongly encouraged
in this patriotic effort. A month ago
France appeared upon the very verge
of another cabinet crisis which might
easily have ended in a dictatorship.
There were even some Conservatives
who seemed to welcome such reVo-
! luton. Again last Sunday NJ. BRAND
vas emphatic in an ultimatum to the
Wrangling partiSans of the Chamber
of Deputies that unless they cease
their politics and within two days get
together in support of the Doumer tax
| bill the cabinet would be forced to re-
sign. If NJ. BRAND, with all his suav-
ity and readiness to unite all parties
by accepting the more moderates of
each, is unable to hold enough support
to make majority in the Chamber
what other statesman could do more?
Already, through the compromise
tact Of NJ. BRAND, the Radical So
cialists have abandoned their pet plan
of confiscating capital--a plan which
had loomed like a nightmare before
the masses.
The capital levy differed from a tax
on incomes, for it meant confiscation
of from 12 to Is per cent Of the value
OF all property whether it was paying
| any income or not. 1t meant that
the owner of a castle or gallery OF
paintings might be required to pay
| into the treasury Is per cent of the
appraised value of the property, pay
| ing installments spread over IA years.
| This was the plan supported by the
| Harriot cabinet, but it fell last July,
and with it fell the Cartel control OF
! the government. A French Cartel
| is not a bloc, it may include several
blocs all uniting for a constructive
policy, while each bloc may have its
own pet hobby of opposition.
When Painleve succeeded Herriot
he had the support from the outset
of only part of the controlling car
| tel, and almost Immediately the Car
| tel lost control of the Chamber. Par
lament continued without Cartel con-
troll from last July to October, but
the financial stress of the country
brought panic which overthrow Pain.
leve last November, regardless OF
partisan politicians.
| In October, the leaders of the Car.
tel got together at Nice and prepared
a new onslaught upon control against
the efforts of President Dounergue to
prevent a revival of the power OF the
chamber extremists, for President
Doumergue, himself, is a moderate
To that end, the president persuaded
BRAND to take the premiership
against his own inclinations, and fol
10 weeks the BRAND cabinet has
| struggled desperately to hold together
the more moderate Of the Socialists
the Radical Socialists, the Center ant
the Conservatives of the Right.
BRAND is not supported by any bloc
and must unite individuals of the sew
eral blocs, disintegrating the Carte
of it's PTS members. He has barely
held a working majority. He has
played the role of a veritable Atlas
holding the French world upon hi.
shoulders, without visible means o
support.
The premier took his final stant
upon the tax measure introduced by
the minister of finance, Doumer. HI
announced last week that If the Sen
ate and Chamber refused to drop thei