Evening star., 1937-02-22
TOWN HALL TOLD
|BLUMRAST ASTOUCHED
LEFT SWING LIMIT
Able Ernest Dimnet Says
Initiation Peril May
Gust Premier.
SEES MANY REFORMS
GAINED BY REGIME
Conservatives No Longer Fear
Socialist, Cleric Tells
Audience.

Inc popular ITOHt government OI
France, led by Socialist Prime Min
lister Leon Blum, has gone as far as
it can toward the political left and
still remain in power, Very Rev.
Able Ernest Dimnet, canon of the
Cambray Cathedral and noted French
author and lecturer, told the weekly
Town Hall audience at the Shoreham
Hotel last night.
Governmental finance and econ
omy, especially the former, are the
greatest problems confronting the
Blum government, the able de-
| clared with either the dream" Of
tapping resources of insurance COM
possible pitfalls ahead that might
eventually lead to the cabinets down.
fall.
The French cleric and author, well
known on the American lecture plat
form, first informed his audience
that the Blum government was far
from communistic. He pictured the
Socialist Blum as between the Liberals
and Communists, right and left, re-
Spectively. on the left side of the
French Chamber of Deputies. There
are 140 Liberals, 180 Socialists and 72
Communists in the Chamber.
Honest and Clear Thinker.
"The popular front" said Able
Dimnet, 'is purely a political affair
among the men elected to the Cham
ber and not among the electorate.
Blum is a poet, an artist, a dramatic
critic and collector, and while his
father was Jewish and his mother
Bulgarian, nobody can be as French
as he. Most Socialists members in
France are rich men, and Blum was
sure to be moderate as prime minis
ter, according to his nature. He is
honest and he thinks and writes
clearly"
Able Dimnet described the Liberal
party part of the popular front as
really conservative" and asserted
Blum. achieving the 40-hour week,
IS per cent salary increases and col.
lective bargaining, really was carry.
ing out Liberal reforms proposed as
far back as 1853, when Napolean III
was in power.
The speaker showed himself de.
cidedly camera-shy when a news
photographer early in the address
made a fashlight picture of him.
What a bothersome custom" he ex-
claimed, as the bulb flashed from his
left side. He paused briefly and the
cameraman retreated. "T71e last man
who did that said go on with your
lecture" the able added.
Socialism" asserted the speaker
means naturalization of industry
and thus far there has been none oi
that in France except for war mum.
tions."
Part of Frances financial Difficult.
ties were attributed by Able Dimnet
to appropriation OF $4,000, 900 00(
francs for rearmament. because oi
revival of the German war machine
Conservatives, he said. are now not
as afraid of Premier Blum as they
were when he first took office. eight
months ago. Discussing effects of the
Blum program, the Able said the 40.
hour week had led to increased price,
for goods and reduced sales and hac
raised the cost of living 13 per cent
leaving workers only 2 per cent ne,
from wage increases Of Is per cent.
The speaker described France a.
nation of small landed proprietors
whose political beliefs are mirrorec
in the French Senate, and said "i
Blum loses he will be outvoted by
the Senate unless there be banana
skin somewhere" He believed the
government would meet its Waterloo
if it tried to take over insurance com.
pany resources or pursued a path o.
imitation.
Financier Might Succeed.
In this event, said the able, &
Liberal cabinet would succeed thu
Socialists, with a man of great finan.
cial ability as premier. and there
would be no revolution because thu
French worker lis so we'll fed and rev.
olutions are started by hungry peo.
ple.'
Able Dimnet was introduced By
Canon Arson Phelps Stokes of Wash.
ington Cathedral, who acted as chair
man. Members of the panel tha
questioned the able after his lecture
were Herbert Wright. chairman o.
the department of politics and pro-
fessor of international law at Cath.
olic University; Letter Magnusson
director of the Washington headquar.
terS of the International Labor OF.
flee, and Kemper Simpson, economic
adviser to the Securities and Ex'
change Commission.
Replying to questions, Able Dimnet
said another prime minister woulc
have to "foo: the bills" of the Blum
government, suggesting the new
French Ambassador to the United
States, Georges Bonnet, as a possible
successor to the mustached, bespec'
tacled Socialist leader.
The Blum government, he asserted
had accomplished more reform il
eight months than the conservative
parties of France had in eight years
Only per cent of the French pop.
ulation Is unemployed, while 20 PEI
cent of the nations income goes fol
taxes, in contrast to IL per cent il
the United States, other questions re,
vealed.
Canon Stokes announced efforts
were being made to secure two Sen.
ators to lead forum on the Supreme
Court issue at next Sundays Towr
Hall session, thus postponing the
scheduled lecture of DR. Howard Hag.
gard of Yale University until latel
date.