Evening star., 1936-08-16

But there have appeared on the
French political sky two young men.
hitherto considered as joke by the
old politicians. These two young
men seem to appeal to the popular
masses.
One Is Jean Bergery, the other
Jaques Doriot. They both have
started their political life as Com
munists and both have broken away
from the old party because they could
see no future for young. oncoming
politicians in party subsidized and
directed by Moscow.
These two men are extremely active
Hardly day goes by without either
of them having some political meet
ing in Paris or in the provinces. It's
good, and in France, a remunerative
plan. The entrance fee to any of
these meetings is only 2 francs az
cents. But when 10 or Is thousand
men attend such meetings, the treas
ury of the organization does not
suffer.
Raised Fist Is Salute.
I must confess that the first time
went to one of Bergery's rallies,a I
was somewhat nervous. Thousands
of fists were raised in the air when
the leader arrived. I thought it was
a trick of the opposition which had
filled the hall with hostile crowd.
Nothing Of the sort. Since the Fascists
and the Nazis have adopted political
salute, by raising the right hand above
the head, the anti-Fascists of Bergery
have adopted similar gesture. Only
to show that they are not Nazis, they
simply shake their fists. It's Just as
effective.
Bergery is an intellectual. He began
to be interested in politics in 1919.
when he became, as a very young man,
the secretary of the Conference of
Ambassadors in Paris He resigned
later, to become one of Herriot,s
henchmen, and when the mayor of
Lyons became Frances first semi
Socialist prime minister, in 1924, Ber-
gerry was his chef de cabinet" a
Marvin MacIntyre, with more rank
and power to give jobs. 1t was then
that the Russians sent the former
banker, Krassine, as Ambassador to
Paris. Bergery became imbued with
the Communist doctrines soon after
he married the Ambassadors pretty
daughter, whom he divorced later,
when he no longer had any use for
communism. He is now married to an
American, who has fashion shop in
Paris.
Fights Against Monopolies.
Bergery blossomed out as a political
leader after Blum's election. He still
belongs to the Front Populaire, but
opposes the wishy- -washy policy of the
leader. His main platform in politics
is a determined fight against mon
opolies and trusts, especially against
the public utilities trust. He advo-
Gates the taking over by the state of
all public utilities in order to give
the French people the benefits of cheap
electricity, cheap gas and cheap trans
portation. For the time being they
are almost outside the reach of the
average person.
Bergery is an intelligent and force
ful politician, despite the fact that
he is barely As years old. He appeals
to the masses, but mostly to the bour-
geois and intellectual masses. He
thinks of effects all the time. Thus,
during his meetings, it does not mat
ter how hot and sitting it may be in
the hall, he will never take off his coat.
Dressed in black with black tie, he
Will stand for hours at q time ad-
dressing his public with a typically
French eloquence. His voice is melo-
dious and powerful. But he has not
the gift Of raising the masses to a
pitch of enthusiasm like Jaures used
to have.
Few Workmen at Meeting.
There are few workmen at his
meetings, which are attended by par
lor-bolshevists, pretty ladies and
thousands Of middle-class people.
shopkeepers, clerks, good bourreios
who live of their pensions and q
sprlnkllng OF former CroiX de Feu-
those who have not Joined Doriot after
Col. de Ia Roque's adventure missed
fire and collapsed.
But, despite the fact that Bergerys
followers are not of the type who
would fight for their leaders on the
streets of Paris (the maximum they
might do Is to SholIt). his mower n,
the future political set-ups of France
should not be neglected. He Is an ex-
tremely shrewd man and useful man
in any political combination because
of his appeal to an important section
of the French public. Bergery is a
gentleman, and past experiences have
shown that a gentleman always Is
necessary in proletarian combination
which wants to establish a dictator
ship.
(Copyrisht, 1886, by The Evening Star