Evening star., 1939-10-01

On the shoulders of these men
Ddlddier, left, is sho,Dn in a characte
Deteran, is supreme military comma
Maurice Gustave Gamelin is in SUI
preme command of the land forces of
France and her ally, Britain. And it is
one of the major ironies of this new
war that Gamelin must now fight in the
face of long series of past capitulations
that each time he stoutly resisted.
When the Nazis began to move into
the demilitarized Rhineland zone in
1886, Gamelin believed the time had
come for mobilization. He was over
ruled by the politicians. In the months
that followed he viewed Germany's mill
tary resurgence with mounting appre-
hension. AS the Munich appeasement
took form year ago he hurried to Lon
don to inform the British that his troops
were ready to march. He was almost
ignored.
Now, with Czecho-Slovakia gone, with
Poland out and with Russia aligned with
Germany this little solemn faced soldier
must win victory. A conspicuous sue
cess will mean a place for Gamelin
alongside the greatest military leaders
of all time. But he is far too realistic,
too disillusioned, with that sharp, earthly
Gallo disillusion, to put much store in
worldly honors. Completely absorbed in
his job he has no time to think about
what a distant and doubtful future may
bring.
More nearly than in any of the other
belligerent nations, the military, in the
person of Gamelin, overshadows the
civilians who make up the French gov
ernment. There have been changes in
the French cabinet since the war broke
out. New figures have been added and
there have been shifts. But politically it
is the same kind of regime that has
governed France since the fall of the
Socialists government made up of
professional politicians to the right Of
the middle who have sought to unity
a badly divided nation on the issue of
national defense.
Daladier Achieves Unity.
The unity that has been achieved has
been, due thanks in no small degree, to
I ACA1lASA OdAoSAlSA. III CAlC AAoO PAdSCS
Daladier appears to be an honest man,
less given to minor chicanery than most
politicians. During the first World War
he was front-line fighter Radical
Socialist, which is about the equivalent
of a mildly liberal Republican, he served
all through the Popular Front govern
ment of Leon Blum
This consarvo+ivo rrenchroop u,;tI, thu
strong property sense so characteristic
Of that practical people, was something
of an anomaly in the Blum government.
AS minister of defense he paid little at
tention to the political policies of the
regime except to fight furiously for addi-
tional funds for his department. At
tremendous Popular Front demonstra-
ton on Bastille Day. Daladier marched
with the Socialists and Communists, sat
on the platform in swirls of red bunting
and then got up to say that as for his
own personal opinion he believed in
capitalism. 1t was typical Of the inde-
pendence he has displayed throughout
his career.
He has never relinquished the defense
post, keeping 1t after the downfall of the
Socialists and with his rise to be head
of his own government. Today he is
Prime Minister minister of defense and
minister of foreign affairs. with virtually
dictatorial powers conferred upon him
by special DEGREES of Parliament.
When he made his recent cabinet
shifts, Daladier took Georges Bonnet out
of the ministry of foreign affairs, to the
intense relief Of those who have long
suspected him Of desire to appease
Germany at any cost. Bonnet was
major handicap in Daladier's dealings
with other nations. A flood Of rumors
about his conduct and connection has
spread all over the world since Munich.
In France it was summed up on the
sidewalk cafes by the following: "Have
you heard the latest news of Bonnet?
Now he's sold out to the French"
With long, sharply pointed face,
Bonnet looks at the world suspiciously
out of pale blue eyes, For three months,
during the interval between Blum and
Daladier, Bonnet was French Ambassa-
dor in Washington. He did not like