The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-27
Europe's Newest ''Dictator" But France Doesn't Care If It Saves Her Face
By MILTON BRONNER NEA Service Stan CorrespondeI

NEA Service Stan Correspondent
 Paris, March 27.-If stocly, pug nacious Edouard Daladier appears to have become, at least temporarily. dictator to make France strong in the growing European crisis, it is because he holds no illusions about Adolf Hitler.
 Edouard Daladier, who has three times been premier of his country In recent stormy years, holds no illusions because he is keen student of history and because he has been a soldier, both as a pri- vate in the trenches and as officer.
 Above all, Daladier believes in constitutional government, but he believes at the same time that to have peace one must be strong. That philosophy more than any, thing else explains his demand for emergency powers that have put French workers on a 64-hour week, that have geared the nation to a wartime basis generally.
 20 YEARS
 IN POLITICS
 As minister of war, the onetime Provencal baker boy began to strengthen national defense as early as 10 years ago. More than any other man he has been responsible for bringing the French army to its present high point of efficiency. With Andre Maginot, he has been called the greatest war minister since the Armistice.
 Dadadier's political career started on Armistice day, 1919, when he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. Herriot gave him his first portfolio five years later, naming him nin- ister of colonies. From that point he rose swiftly.
 He has been minister of colonies, of public instruction, of public works and of war.
 He was first elected premier in 1892. His greatest chance came then when Herriot was overthrown on the debt question and Daladier suc- ceeded him as "stop-gap" Radical Socialist. He turned out to be one of the most able preminers since the war. How able, is evidenced by the fact that he proved hsnself 8 strong man" in period of great crisis in the French parliament.
 He returned to power again in 1884 and for the third time in April 1888. He has weathered crisis upon crisis in the present term. He has demanded emergency powers on repeated occasions and France has granted them.
 But there has been no fanfare of the dictator, for all that, about Edouard Daladier. He is a man of few words, so few that he has been often called the Coolidge of France" He made only three speeches in one year as premier. On the other hand, he is man of direct action.
 CITED IN
 WORLD WAR
 He has been, in fact, since his boyhood in the sunny Romany country of southern France. He was born the son of a French baker, but his father had high ambitions fer his son and so Edouard went to college. He won highest honors, although he worked himself through the university. He gave lessons at three francs an hour getting up at five o'clock in the morning to pre- pare them. Thus from 1T to 25 he developed habits of mexhaustible endurance.
 From French colleges he went to Rome for 8 year on scholarship. Then he returned to France to specialize in history. And from his tory he plunged into the World War. He spent four years in the trenches, came out with the Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerre and three citation for bravery. He has been fighting some form of battle even since.
 Daladier is known today. as a Radical-Socialist. But those terms do not quite mean in France what they do in America. More accurate ly he is said to be Republican and 8 Democrat.
 If Frances action makes Edouard Daladier look like a dictator, Dala- dier doesn't care, so long as 1t makes France strong.