Evening star., 1936-06-28

never tire of quoting. Il hate you" he
said once, turning toward the tradi-
tional Right, and on another occasion
he said: Whenever necessary we (the
Socialists) shall know how to put le-
gality on leave"
But are such outbursts a sign of
true Statemanship? And, meanwhile,
what has become Of the dilettante?
On that point an answer can be given
Immediately - the dilettante has
changed somewhat into sophist. Yes,
a touch Of sophistry not infrequently
spoils his parliamentary speeches
speeches which, if they could be free
from it. would be JOY to many a
Chamber where the oratorical level has
sunk very low.
Although the orthodox Socialist
party for years has welded great po-
litical and even governmental inf1u-
ence Through its electoral association
with the dominant Radical-Socialists)
it has never tasted Of the spoils of
office. 1t has never been called upon
to prove its capacity. It has always
been possible for the party, whenever
a crisis broke out, to fall back upon an
attitude OF all-around criticism.
Now the day of judgment has ar
rived. There are many ambitious and
self-seeking men in the ranks Of the
orthodox Socialist party who want.
come what may, to use the. present
opportunity ! to better themselves.
There are demagogues, too, who feet
that it would be wiser for them to try
to save their faces than to attempt to
achieve real positive work.
Control, Discipline Needed.
VIII Mr.. Blum have the energy To
keep them all under control to disci-
pline them? If he doesn't prove equal
to the task, the orthodox Socialists
in France will share the fate of their
brothers through the whole of Central
Europe and Italy. They probably will
not succumb to a dictator because the
prospects of French dictatorship are
indeed very poor. But at the next
general elections they will lose ground
to the Radical-Socialists and to the
Communists. The latter are very far
from being at one with the orthodox
Socialists on all subjects. especially
as regards the radical interpretation
of the Marxist theory, national de-
fense, which they favor (under the
guidance OF Soviet Russia) and inter-
national disarmament, of which they
disapprove in the light Of the present
situation in Europe.
But behind this parliamentary game,
what is the true feeling of the coun-
try? It perhaps does not run so much
to the Left as a superficial glance at
election results would seem to indicate.
After all, although the orthodox So
cialists have won II more seats than
they had in 1892. the number of votes
they gathered shrank from 1866, 1874 TO
1887 ,209. in total electorate of nearly
100000.
The Radical-Socialists, too, have lost
ABS, 900 votes. Only the Communists
have increased their ranks-their gain
was more than 100000.
Only Communists Gained.
1t can thus be seen that the opera
tion Of the electoral law and of the
Popular Front" alliance which vas
set at work between the elections Of
1882 and 1896 to combat "fascism"
have somewhat distorted the real
leanings of the multitude. Only the
Communists gained triumph In the
election. Orthodox Socialists and
Radical-Socialists lost ground.
Moreover, it cannot be said that the
victory Of the initators of Moscow is
due to the spreading Of organized revo-
luton. In my village the 81 young
men who went Communist are sons Of
small landowners, and their main COM
plant Is that their elders do not give
them the same amount of pocket
money as formerly! The raising of
agricultural prices which would be
brought about by devaluation Of the
currency would assuredly put an end
to their discomfort.
In addition, it must not be over
looked that, under the guidance Of the
Komintern, or Third International. the
Communist candidates were careful to
drop ell the wild demands in their pro-
gram. They emphasized the necessity
Of a strong army and-in the rural
constituencies, at any rate-expressed
opinions much the same as those held
by the Radical-Socialists Of genera
tion ago.
The practical conclusion to be
reached Is that whereas all the legs-
lation that will be passed against the
so-called Fascist leagues (the "Croix
de Feu," etc. Is likely to be popular,
the financial and economic action of
the new cabinet might easily be strenu-
ously resisted If the cabinet should try
to depart too boldly from commonly
accepted rules.
All odds are that the Socialist cab
met will be judged not upon its
schemes Of social innovation. but upon
what it will or will not do to improve
the economic situation and check the
external danger.