Evening star., 1936-06-16
Popular Front
Birth Aided
by Cachin
First French RED" in
Chamber a Pillar for
Leon Blum.
BY LEMUEL F. PARTON.

n
n 4 ARCEL CACHIN was the first
M Communist to be elected to
wi the French Chamber of Dep.
4 = uties. That was last October.
Left gains since then have made his
party of some Importance in the deli
cately poised power balance and. for
the first time in his long and tumult-
uous political career, he speaks boldly
without hearing the clang Of jail
door soon afterWard.
For 81 years he remained in the
Chamber as an old-line Socialist and
in that time was Frances steadieSJ
in-and -outer at the Isle de Cite Jail,
in spite of his parliamentary i'm
nunity. In the field Of subversive in
citements of one sort or other. France
has scarcely a statute which she
hasn't swung on NJ. Cachin.
He has powerful influence in the
parties of the Left and his declara
tion that the party is out to set up
Soviet in France is marked for atten-
tion in the run Of still jittery political
news from France. 1t indicates that
The Communist party's adherence TO
the popular front, which supports
Premier Blum. is subordinate TO its
main idea Of seizing power on its own
account.
NJ Cachin, 81 years old, former
school teacher. haunch, paunch and
iowl antagonist of the fire-eating
Royalist, Daudet, has been the most
articulate and irrepressible voice Of
the reds in the postwar period. When
he visited Russia in the 1920's he
professed shock at the bolhevik
brutality" but events drove him still
farther to the Left and finally 10
his dive into communism last year.
He had much 10 do with building
the now ascendant Popular front
His apostasy, If that is what his new
declaration means, might embarrass
Premier Blum, as he needs the 30
odd Communist votes He is the editor
of Humanite. leading Communist
newspaper Of France.
It seems like old times 10 see
Feng Yu-hsiang, Chinas Christian
general" back in the news. This time
he is allied with the Marking gov
ernment, trying to calm down the fire.
eating southerners as the latter raise
the issue of civil war or a united
resistance to Japan
Feng, an amiable and somewhat
obese giant. has been a formidable
war lord, but never seemed to put
his heart into his fighting. Every
once in while he withdraws for a
year or so TO wander along the high
ways, painting plum blossoms, in an
old padded coat, with kit of paints
and brushes and vacuum bottle hung
from his waist. In his last dis
appearance, he has been high on the
slopes of Tai Shan, the Sacred
Mountain" living in cell, with
kerosene lamp, a table and bed, medi-
tating and studying the philosophers.
1t Is said that he aspires to be the
Gandhi Of China, but he Just can't
keep out of any interesting fight
that may happen to start anywhere
near him.
Mary Morrill,, Maine girl, serving
as a missionary in China, converted
him to Christianity. He was a peasant
soldier. She interpreted for him his
dream about snake under his bed
or else talked him out Of it. At any
rate she turned him into a shouting
evangelist. When he became o gen.
ersl, he preached every day to his
troops.
1.azar NJ Kagsnoyitch is the Simon
Legree Of laggard Soviet industry, and
there is heard more and more talk
about the probability that he some
day will succeed Stain. Today he Is
acclaimed in Moscow for having in
creased Soviet car loadings 100 per
cent in 16 months. He is commissar
for transportation, the only Jewish
member of the powerful 'politbureau"
of the Communist party and the holder
Of many other important posts. He is
43 years old, heavily built and vigorous.
Recently he shaved his Van Dyke beard
and now wears a dropping mustache
like Stain.