Evening star., 1939-08-07

France Recognizes Its Debt
TO Hitler for Uniting Nation
Country Is Fully Prepared for Conflict
Whenever and if Il Should Come

depressed about trade and worried
about war. But" ne added, there
is a good side to 1t all. Those people
(the dictAtors) are making US pull
ourselves together"
Anxiety Found Everywhere.
Everywhere, Of course, one finds
anxiety and irritation over the wal
menace. Enterprise not of the "pre.
paredness" brand Is being held up;
garagemen put their money under
their beds instead Of into new plants;
headwaiters remain headWaiters
instead Of branching out into hotel
keeping; hotel keepers worry about
their season.; farmers about labor II
mobilization comes; families are
haunted by the fear of separation
and death and 30 on. But behind
it all. one Is conscious of q great
nation finding itself.
Not for the first time in their his
tory, the French people are respond
ing to a threat to their right to live
their own life and enjoy their own
civilization in their own way. They
are meeting the German menace
with the same spirit that sent their
ancestors of the revolution out in
half-trained armies triumphantly to
throw back the attack OF the Euro-
pean monarchies when they tried
to restore the Bourbons at Versailles
and recover France for the mon
archial trades union.
Paris Parade Two Years AgO.
Two years ago we motored into
Paris from Germany and tumbled
upon the 14th of July prepared
ness" parade staged by the Blum
government. 1t was good parade
Tanks and guns made the ground
culver and roar, the fighting per-
sonnel was impressive; the crowds
large and enthusiastic. But one did
not feel that 1t quite represented
the national spirit of those days. 1t
was ahead of 1t.
The people, as one had glimpsed
them on the way across France, had
appeared more concerned with the
sit-down strikes, the 40-hour week,
holidays with pay and the other
projects and problems of the Blum
new deal" Distrustful of the
Germans the French always have
beer and always will be, but the
urgent need for 100 per cent
response to the immense mobiliza-
ton of militant nationalism across
the Rhine had not yet been grasped.
M Daladier's 14th of July this
year, far bigger defense demon
stration than that of his predecessor,
did represent the national spirit.
One had only to be in Provincial
France during the days after tito
realize that. The press, radio and
films played it UP for all it was
worth. Readers and listeners re-
sponded. Men pointed to the photo
graphs of the parade and cheering
crowds and said: This is the real
thing; it is popular demonstration !;
1t shows what we want: we hope it
will show Hitler what he will get, if
he forces us to fight"
Daladier National Leader.
M. Daladier, one felt. Is nearer
being a national leader than any OF
his predecessors in recent years.
In his preparedness work, M. Dali
adler has already solid nation be-
hind him. The doubts and recrimi-
nations of the Blum regime have
been swept away. The Blum "new
deal" is not desd-there is too much
good in 1t for 1t to debut most of
it Is in cold storage and will not re-
appear while the national emer-
gency lasts. For the present, few
are ready to let the 40-hour week or
holidays with pay and other social
reforms stand in the way of re-
armament.
AS she tackles preparedness
France is congratulating herself
that, unlike the Enghsh.speaking
democracies, she has been able to
reconcile permanent conscription
with democracy. Somebody in one Of
the remotest and poorest of the de-
partments was telling me about the
local situation. Everything, he said,
was ready, military mobilization,
food supplies, hospitals, the billeting
Of the departments quota of refugees
from the Rhine departments and
Paris, in this case 10000 persons.
registered admiration. But you
must remember" he said, chow
much easier 1t all Is for us with Our
habit of national military service.
Each Of us knows his place"
Every Frenchman realizes that
the best hope for peace is the
strongest possible democratic peace
front. They blame the Communists
for the strikes ana troubles of two
years ago. Also many French FAM
lilies have their little bundles of
worthless imperial Russian bonds
tucked away in a drawer and curse
the Soviets for repudiating them.
These facts, however, did not pre-.
vent rising wave of impatience
during the weeks we were in France
with what was thought to be the
half-hearted slowness of the Lon
don-Moscow negotiations for getting
Russia into the peace front. There
was even much discussion as to how
far President Roosevelt's failure to
persuade Congress to allow the
democracies to continue to buy
American munitions in case of war
would encourage Hitler to strike.