A Crisis Evaded

The French Government, notoriously a movable object, was last week carried by an irresistible force to the shadow of the valley of political death.

The gist of the story was that Finance Minister Joseph Caillaux had said that ex-Premier Edouard Herriot's budget was not balanced and that neither he nor his chief, Premier Paul Painleve, would ever consent to a capital levy.

The Radical Socialists resented this, swore that the Herriot budget was the first balanced budget that France had had since the War. The Socialists joined the fray, urged a capital levy.

The next day, a meeting of party chiefs was held. The Government held to its course, the Radical Socialists and the Socialists to theirs. The only difference was that the Socialists, without whom the present Government cannot exist, agreed not to revolt at the present time.