Evening star., 1938-01-21
''Of Agin, On Agin.''

MI 6AA9 OA ASlus
1t the premier OF France has heard of
strickland Gillilan's ballad of the Hoosier
section boss who reported "off agin, on
agin, gone agin, F1nnigin" to divisional
headquarters ON famous occasion, M.
Camille Chautemps might do worse than
propose its adoption as the official cabi-
net anthem Of the republic. For the
Radical Socialists under his leadership
have Just executed one of the most re-
markable lightning change acts on rec
ord. even in the history Of that chance
leon known as French politics.
On January IA Chautemps was pre-
mier. On January Is, due to refusal of
the mongrel Popular Front to continue
confidence in the governments finan-
cial policy. Chautemps' cabinet fell. On
January l6 his finance minister, M.
Georges Bonnet. attempted to form q
new ministry. He failed. On January
II former Premier Blum essayed the
thankless job. For thirty-six feetinR
hours he seemed on the verge Of success.
On January 18 President Lebrun found
himself compelled to re-intrust Office
to M. Chautemps. BY nightfall Of
January 10, after France had been gov
ernmentless for five days, the lately
ousted statesman landed once more in
the seat Of the mighty.
This time Chautemps heads virtually q
one-party government, instead of the
coalition makeshifts chronic at Paris
during the postwar era. OF the score
OF f1rst-rank portfolios In the second
Chautemps cabinet. no fewer than thir-
teen are Radical Socialists. Such a con-
stellation should assure q fairly stable
regime in the Palais Bourbon and on
the Quai dOrsay, but to bank on that
prospect Is to ignore the ineradicably
mercurial conditions amid which French
politicians thrive. President Lebrun has
now weathered his thirteenth cabinet
crisis" In seven years. He cannot be 10
optimistic as to imagine it will be his last.
Having no longer to consider the trou-
ble-breed1ng Communists, the revamped
Chautemps ministry is in position to go
places. 1t can grapple with the para
mount issues of finance, social policy
and national defense with 4 firmness.
independence and effectiveness impos-
sible before. The reinstated premier got
of to q flying start yesterday by per-
suading striking truck drivers and en-
ployes to arbitrate one of the basic dis
putes responsible for recent labor unrest.
Today Chautemps will submit to the
Chamber program expected to promise
swift completion Of q code for social
peace. old-age pensions, agricultural
benefits and other reforms.
That reads almost like q list of the
problems perplexing the administration
and Congress at Washington. The dis
llusioned French people, after year
Of new deal under Leon Blum's Socialist
auspices, discovered they were attempt
ting q Utopia overnight. They found
that, even though they planned it that
way" 1t would not work, as kindred
projects have not worked here. The
Chautemps governments resumed task
Is to save the franc, keep industrial
peace, promote social security and main
tain inviolate the country's defense by
stages which tax-ridden nation and
dislocated national economy can bear,
rather than by the ill-digested pell-mell
methods dear to doctrinaires. The re-
suit Of the impending French effort to
make reconstruction haste more sanely
and slowly will bear watching in lands
an oceans width away from the Seine.