Glacier County chief., 1940-11-15
WHO'S
NEWS
THIS
WEEK:
BY LEMUEL F. PARTON

Consolidated Features-WNU Servfce-D
NEW YORK.-This reporter was
~ in Washington in June, 1881,
when Pierre Laval made his visit
to President Hoover in the interest
of a debt adj
In a Small World justment. M.
It's Only a Short Laval quite
Trip to Hollywood inn9 9cS MY
nice little nosegay of a story. The
story withered and died because its
publication might have been tactless
at the time, when with psalter and
harp we hymned new international
brotherhood. Today, however, the
story seems pertinent to M. Lavars
accurate appraisal in the Europe
which we "see through a glass
darby"
The newspapers were making
quite fuss over M. Laval and his
pretty daughter, Josette. When a
grand limousine called to take him
to the White House, he was done up
in morning suit and an ascot tie.
There had been a mix-up in
the chauffeur's orders and he
had arrived far ahead of sched-
uIe. "How much time have we
before we are due at the White
House," asked NJ. Laval.
"A little over two hours" re-
piled the chauffeur. That is time
enough for a drive. Is there any
thing that you would particular
ly like to see?"
NJ. Laval pondered this a mo-
ment and then said: "Well, if
we have all that time, l GER
tainly would like to see Holly
wood"
M. Laval's ideas of geography
may be more important now than
they were then. AS vice premier OF
France, he throws his weight with
the Axis powers, which he frequent
ly has done, in a general European
hegemony under Germany.
M. Lavals ideas of geography
may have remotely influenced his
decision. It's a small world-only
a short drive to Hollywood. And,
by the grace of Chancellor Hitler, he
may be Frances next strong man.
1t will be noted that NJ. La
vars name is reversible in spell
ing. So is his career. His transit
tons from left to right and back
again have been easy and fire.
quent, but mainly from left to
right. The swarthy, thick-set,
one-time butchers boy and hack
driver of the hill country of Au-
vergne, always shrewd and dill
gent, squirreled enough odds
and ends of learning, without
formal schooling, to send him in
! in his early twenties as bel
| igerent Left-Wing union labor
lawyer. He entered politics with
| Soak the rich cutlery which
advanced him rapidly, planted
him in Paris as a wealthy and
successful lawyer and made him
thrice premier and foreign min
lister. He did not serve in the
army during the World war,
then tagged as radical" and
Malmy, minister of the interior,
was accused of pro-GermaniSm
because he failed to have Laval
arrested for criminal syndical-
ism.
1t was in the postwar years that
Laval took his sharp swing to the
right, moving along with Flandin,
Tardieu. Francols-Poncet and 9TH
ers of the powerful cartelization and
comite des FORCES groups, which
sought financial accommodation
with Germany, before and after the
advent of Adolf Hitler.
n EMETRIOS S1CILIANOS, the
- Greek minister at Washington,
takes calmly the news of ltaly's as
sault on Greece. This is perhaps I'M
derStandable.
Greek Minister at During his 35
Washington Leans years in the
To the Long VierD aipio m a q ~ h; c
country he has encountered not only
wars, but periods of exile and jail,
with everything coming out all right
in the end, at least so far as he
was concerned.
His occasional Jail and exile trou-
bles have been due to being tempo
rarily on the wrong end of argu-
ments involving the proper form of
government for Greece. He is a
zaro1,.% a-l - Erv,, knliauor