The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-14


 requirement that subjects kiss his hand, declaring that he will use his hands instead to make a more generous distribution of the coun- trs's wealth to the country's peo- pie.
 When he was inaugurated last June, a scene took place which .eminded Americans of Daniel Web- ster's account of Andrew Jack sons inauguration, when push ing idolators behaved like hood lumS, upsetting punch bowls in the White House, breaking glasses. and standing in muddy boots on damask chairs te catch a glimpse
 of the peoples Napoleon
 Tn Tunis, a perspiring mob surged toward the inaugural plat form. a motley mingling of caids. beylical generals, diplomats and ordinary Arabs from the four cor ners of Tunisia. The Spanish Consul-General, who was dean of the diplomatic corps, almost faint ed Tn the crush.
 At the time, it looked like
 comic opera to American ob-
 servers but Tunisia's perspiring
 democracy takes on a new sig
 nificance today. as the sons of
 Andrew Jackson advance across North Africa.
 WAR CHAFF
 Admiral Esteva, Resident-Gen- eral of Tunis, has unique theory about boards, women and ef- ficiency. Believing that women and shaving take up too much time, he resolved as a youth never to shave and never to associate with women. As a result he figures he has saved several years of his life It was really the French Dieuxieme Bureau, or Secret Sery- ice, which Smuggled Gen. Giraud out of France into North Africa. just as they also had most to do with smuggling him out of a Ger man prison. He passed through Gibraltar disguised as an old wo- man accompanied by a younger French woman Admiral Dar- Ian was at the bedside of his son in Algiers. Ill with blood pois- oning. when U. s. troops alnded in North Africa. Admiral Es- teva. Gen. Juin, and several other military leaders all have been sounded out secretly by U. S. agents regarding resistance in case American troops landed.
 PETAIN'S TRAGEDY
 Behind the picture of aged Mar shal Petain, broken, disillusioned. turning first against the United States, then against the Germans whom he thought were his friends, is an important story. It is the story of attempted appeasement, the story of war short of war.
 Petain has been hailed as the great hero of Verdun. Attributed to him for a generation have been the words: They shall net pass:" Actually those words were written by a typewriter strategist of 1916 and put into Petai.l's mouth. He never said them. Actually Petain was for surren- der to the Germans in the last war. just as he was for surrender in i940. He has always been for war short of war.
 What happened at Verdun in 1916 is told by Marshal Joffre.
 'I constantly recalled t0 Gen. Petain the necessity of taking artion." yoffre wrote In his memoirs. 'I looked around for some means of removing Petain from the Verdun battiefield-he had gene so far as te declare over the telephone to Castele- nau that they could net hold a week."
 Again in 1918, petain was even more of m appeaser. In the bat tie of the Somme. Field Marshal Montgomery -Massinberd described a conference with FOch and Pe- tain at which Petain wanted to withdraw the French armies. leav- ing the British to face the enemy alone.
 'T have never heard 6 senior general told off h pubiic,' said