Evening star., 1936-07-05
FRANCE IS THREATENED
BY RULE FROM STREETS
Days OF Blum and Parliamentarism Held
Numbered as Premier Is Led
by Popular Masses.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.


Il comes too close to being ac-
curate. While more able and less Wis
tonary, he has one thing in common
with the former Russian leader. Like
Kerensky, he is being led not leading.
And Blum Is being led not by his own
followers or by the parliamentary
groups which gave him the premier
ship, but by that amorphous thing
called the popular masses, the prole-
tariat.
Blum's days are numbered-his ten
ure of office cannot be long. He will
be overthrown either by the conserva-
tive groups-the Croix de Feu, the
Front Patriotique and other So-called
reactionary organizations-or by his
present allies the Communists.
France is struggling for her exist
ence. She is going through the same
crisis italy and Germany have expert
enced the fight between revolutionary
socialism and dictatorship The fight
between the Tricolor and the hammer
and sickle. The decision as to which
of the two flags will become the ma
tional emblem of the country lies not
with the government nor with the par
liamentary institutions. 1t rests on
which of the popular factions will win
the battles on the streets of Paris,
Marseilles, Lyons and other important
cities.
M. Blum inherited a difficult situa-
ton when he assumed office. The
treasury was empty. During the last
IA months France has lost no less
than S2285, 100000 of her gold re-
serves. Taking advantage of the fact
that no embargo on the export of that
precious metal could be inforced, the
citizens of France have transferred
their capitals and savings to the
United States, Great Britain and Swift
Eerland
Make Permanent Investments.
But, unlike their actions in 1925,
many of those who possessed certain
amount of wealth we're not satisfied
with mere temporary transfer of
their gold to a safe" country, nor
with the purchase of foreign securities
which could be transferred into francs
again when the situation became
clearer. This time they placed good
deal of their wealth in permanent in
vestments such as real estate In the
United States alone substantial
amounts have been invested in farms.
country estates, houses and lots in
towns.
The same applies to Great Britain
on a larger scale. There, the real
estate market is undergoing an unex-
pected boom and many of the white
elephants which the British nobility
no longer could afford to maintain are
being purchased like hot pancakes in
Winter months.
The French people fear that for
the next few years nothing good can
be expected to happen in France
whatever group will succeed finally
in obtaining the upper hand. They
are afraid of conflscatory taxes either
In the name of the proletariat or in
the name of La Patrie"
Monsieur Blum has inauguarated
his administration by series of strikes
such as France never before has seen.
He rushed through an obedient Parlia-
ment number of social bills which
have nothing radically socialistic in
their nature. The 40-hour bill, the
increase of wages, the holiday with
pay and other such laws have been
applied for years in many other
countries in Europe. Italy has had
them for the last 18 months. But
there is a fundamental difference
between the methods by which these
bills were rammed through.
ItaIy's Reforms First Studied.
In Italy Mussolini has had the
whole situation investigated by ex-
perts representing industrialistS, labor,
bankers and government economists.
Adoption of the 40-hour week and the
increase in pay was analyzed from
every possible angle with special regard
to the effect on italian exports and
the cost of living. When the experts
reported that an improvement in the
lot of the workers could be achieved
without harm to Italy's economic life,
Mussolini ordered the reforms put
into force. Capital and labor were
instructed to accept them and any
sign of obstruction was punishable
with a large dose of castor oil.
The French government gave the
impression of accepting under duress
the terms of the workers which were
in no way different from those intro
duced into nationalistic Italy. Blum
and his followers in the Chamber and
the Senate appeared to yield to the
pressure of the masses which had
declared strikes and occupied the
factories to press their demands.
Within "a hours after the new cabinet
took office, strikes were declared in
every branch of Frances economic
life. Workers in mines, in restau-
rants, cafes, in the metallurgical in
dustry, in department stores, in navy
yards, in funeral parlors, in the build
ing industry, in the dresSmaking
business, in the chemical industry, in |
the transport business, the Sandwich"
men and the janitors all went on strike |
and occupied the premises in which
they were employed. In some in
stances the strikes were legitimate,
but in many cases it was just the fun
of striking and kicking the boss about
that caused these movements.
Like the "flu" epidemic after the
war, one group caught this disease
from the other. The walters in Paris
are the tyrants of their patrons.
They make q better living than many
an army officer or government OFF,
cial. Yet they joined the strikes Just
because it was a lot Of fun. In some
instances, like the Lido Cafe in the
Champs Elysee, the owner wanted to
turn over the whole business to his
employees; he was not making ends
meet in any case. He informed them
that since he could not see his way
clear to giving them more than he is
paying now, they might just as well
run the business for their own benefit.
But they turned him down; they knew
better than to do that. They in
Sisted m his running the show for