The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1936-07-10
FRANCE PREPARING TRANSITION TO new
ORDER, BLUM TELLS FEDERATED PRESS
BY PIERRE VAN PAAssEN

nearing its end, and the task of
the present French government is
to improve the well-being of labor
and prepare the conditions for
moving on to a better social or
der, Leon Blum, premier of France
told Federated Press is an exclu-
sive interview.
AS French trade unionists adj
vanced to new gains in a sweeping
victory unparalleled in the nations
history, Premier Blum, Socialist
leader and chief of the Peoples
Front regime, explained for the
American labor and liberal press
the mission of the government he
heads.
my government will be the last
attempt to see if some order and
prosperity can be extracted out of
a bourgeois democratic regime"
the French premier said. eve are
not to carry out a program whicr
was drawn up jointly with our lib
eral allies. We will abide by our
pledge.
eve know the capitalist regime
is ruined. The collapse of bour-
geois society is an accomplished
fact, for it is in irretrievable con-
tradiction with itself. It is in con-
flict with reason, intelligence and
morality. The question, as l said,
is whether there is a possibility of
at least securing within the pres
ent regime relief for those who
suffer.
"At the same time, I want So
cialists in America to know that
we consider ourselves elected to
create conditions for a peaceful
Atransition from this mOritbund |
capitalist society to the society |
which remains our aim. | repeat:
we abide by our pledge to the lib
erals to try and bring small ra-
ton of justice and well-being and |
a large ration of hope to those
who long for better world.
"They shall not long in vain. For
If I find that it is impossible, if 1
were to fail through insurmount-
able resistance, | will be the first
to tell the working class: "It was
a dream, nothing can be done with
this regime and then the working
class can draw it's own conclu-
sions."
That Leon Blum indeed expects
his government to be transition
to socialism became evident as
soon as he assumed office. He in
tends to clean the army, the iu-
dietary and police of all suspicious
Fascist elements. Committees of
vigilance and action are being set
up by the Peoples Front in every
town and community, and in some
towns of the Partisan red belt,
workers militias are being Gre
ated.
Without waiting for the Blum
government to assume office, the
workers of Paris and the neigh
boring industrial centers launched
the struggle which won them the
4O-hour week without reduction in
pay, a weeks holiday year with
pay and the right of collective
bargaining. Factorines were occu-
pied day and night to prevent the
owners from rushing in strike |
breaking crews. Wives. sweet
hearts and children organized the
food supply to the hundreds of :
thousands of men on sentinel
duty.
The Paris victory served as an
incentive to the workers in the
northern and eastern textile in
dustries, to railroad employees, to
and to many others
to put forward similar demands,
until finally all French labor was
swept into the onward march. The
owners have learned that the
class of France will know
how to assert its rights hereafter.
The reactionary press is filled with
lamentations and predictions Of
ruin, chaos and Bolshevism. Fas-
cism is beaten, but it hopes the
hour will come when socialists and
liberals split.
Pierre Laval and Andre Tardieu,
leaders, publicly pre-
iicted the Peoples Front govern !
nent would collapse before the
year Is over and that they would
.orm the new government. This
PREDICTION may cost Laval dear.
The 70 Communist deputies imme-
lately introduced a motion in
Parliament To investigate the s11d-