The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-05-19

have had Germans on their land several times tn the past century They know the enemy and do not trust him. Indeed, they do not trust anyone. Men to them are capable of anything: like the weather.
 Take a man of that hard, tena- cious breed, run him through the military mill, make him Q proies- sional soldier. He will be Q iirst- class fighting man, As mother.keen on his men as his men VIII pc brother-fond of him, His life, ms fate will mean nothing to him. HIS duty, his honor will mean ail Ae, |%ill never give way. u At Verdun, Petain stood the tull brunt of the worst attack ol tns hast war. He had said they shall not pass" and they ddd not pass, although to stop them he had put the flesh and blood of his own eouno ano trymen, md Petain sacrificed 28oOoo of them to save France
 RETAINS SENSE
 or DUTY
 Eyerything that makes Petain 0 good soldier makes him Q bad polit. eien Not only does he dislike poli- lies, but he has no political sense, and will fall for the most speciouSs Arguments of men like Darlan ana Laval. Thus he has been peftsuaaa,eo that "loyal cooperation wltA tne TSe!ch" could be carried thfougn without any hostile act against f,renne's former Allies. He has on lntense dislike for liberal views ana a dread of communism, yet hos sur Wounded himself with men who nave no use for Democracy and who have persuaded him that he shoula collaborate with Hitler, allied wltn stalln, He distrusts politicians put he is as putty In their hanos,
 Petain has no use for anyone WI" Isn't French, and a peasant at shav, He never has liked the Fhglish or the Americans. T,here Is the man who four years aVo. at 82 was called back to serve ,is country and sent as Ambassador of the French Republic to Spaln' Naturally the totalitarian govern mani of Franco, based on military liseipline, appealed to him.
 Rut when in the hour or her litter need France called on nm again. he joined Reynaud,s cablneV solely from \ sense or duty' Os Ole bnny be quite certain that no thouBnV of self no personal ambition en tered petairs mind when he LOOK nver the Government of Frahce during that Hateful night of June l5?i0 last year.
 When Petain asked Germany TOT n, armistice as from soldier to soldier, after the struggle and with. n honor" I believe he meant thhV le would never take up arms n. ,oinst his former ally, that he would never give Hitler naval or military nssistailce against England I may oo mistaken but I believe that so onp as Marshal Petain is at the ,oim, Frarce will never glVo up her aoeL nor cede her naval baseS ID North Africa, For he has said, "liit- or can occupy oil France ana m. ,rison me, he can denounce the lrmistice but he can do naught a1 sainst the word of Q Marsii"l oi FFance."
 ONE-TIME SOCIALIST
 EVAPORATION LAWYER
 Pierre Laval Is very different ,ort of person. He was born poor white of the poorest, in the noun. nins of Auvergne, But he was u militant child. The cure Of his m, i've village taught him Latin ana when. as q little butcher.boy, ne delivered his rounds Of meat he was sever without c class book.
 He studied by day and ne stu- lied by night. He got q scholar. his. went to Paris, came out on op of every exam, was called to h he car, went into politics, was ,lected mayor of AubervillierS, then Deputy, posed as on extreme so' ialist and took fat fees as cor ,oration lawyer. When his daughter married into the nobility, Laval rave her . dowry Of half Q million
 Laval Is one Of the cleverest men n TrAnce. He has Q dominating nersonality. Ills versatility ana ranncity for work are almost With.