In Steps Daladier

Biggest man of the week in France was Edouard Daladier, never big before. Young for a statesman, he is but 45. Less than a dozen years ago he was teaching history in the public schools of sleepy Orange. Stocky, pugnacious, eloquent he caught the eye of the boss-politician of central France, famed Edouard Herriot, spellbinding Mayor of Lyons. Edouard gave Edouard a leg up into the Chamber of Deputies in 1919, and fora time Edouard toadied to Edouard in return. When Mayor Herriot became Prime Minister in 1924 he popped Henchman Daladier into the Ministry of Colonies, later got him the portfolio of War in the Cabinet of statesman-mathematician Paul Painleve.

Three years ago Edouard quarreled with Edouard. M. Herriot's luck had turned. He had lost in succession both his second Prime Ministry (TIME, Aug. 2, 1926) and the Presidency of the Chamber of Deputies. He was losing his grip on his party (Radical Socialist). Edouard Daladier saw his chance. With sly intrigue and ruthless, slashing, open vituperation he routed his patron at the Party Congress two years ago, seized the Presidency of the Radical Socialists for himself. After all there are some 20 party groups in France. Outside his own Edouard Daladier remained only a vaguely familiar name--until last week. Then his number turned up on the madcap, illogical roulette wheel of French politics. He was called to form a Cabinet for France.

Fall of Briand. Not merely big but great is Aristide Briand, first Frenchman to bury the War, shaggy-headed, sleepy-eyed but profoundly sagacious builder of friendship and conciliation between France and Germany. As he faced the Chamber of Deputies, just reconvened last week after a three-month vacation, M. Briand knew well enough that his eleventh Cabinet was tottering.

Though led by Briand, greatest statesman of the Left, the Cabinet was really the old coalition Government of Prime Minister Raymond Poincare, "The Lion of Lorraine," greatest statesman of the Right, who was forced by illness to resign on the eve of the Hague Reparations Parley (TIME, Aug. 5). Left cannot lead for long where Right has led. In the Hague emergency M. Briand accepted the thankless, tightrope-walking task. Last week with the curt frankness of an aging, tired man, he told the Deputies that he knew they would soon oust him, begged them in the name of common sense not to do so until the Young Reparations Plan approved at the Hague Conference had been ratified.

Party leaders, itching to orate, faced the Government with 55 interpellations. Testily M. Briand refused to be interpellated, sought to force the Chamber to begin debating the budget, perhaps his one chance to keep the Deputies harmlessly preoccupied for some weeks. A score of Deputies of nearly as many parties rose to protest. Even blind Deputy Scapins was up in arms. Finally one Jean Montigny, obscure Radical Socialist demanded a gen eral debate on the Hague agreements, Young Plan and Rhineland evacuation on Nov. 15.

"To agree to such a date would be undignified and foolish!" snapped Briand.

"Who knows whether or not these grave questions will be ripe for debate then?"

With thunderclap suddenness the Radical Socialist demand was backed from the far Left by Socialist Leader Leon Blum, from the Right by famed Louis Marin, onetime lieutenant of Poincare. Seeing Lefts and Rights sporadically against him, M. Briand dramatically sought to break the leaderless but growing opposition before it could crystallize. Leaning far out from the tribune, leveling an accusing forefinger, he cried: "You take a terrible responsibility, Messieurs!" then flatly asked a vote of confidence.

On a mere issue of procedure, on a squabble over a date, the Tightrope Cabinet of Great Aristide Briand fell by a vote of 288 to 277.

"Mais non! Mais non!" Smartest huntsmen were gathering at the Presidential Palace of Rambouillet when news came of the Cabinet crash. It was the hunt of the year--the President's pheasant shoot for the Diplomatic Corps. With a grave, disgruntled air, very different from his usual beaming cheerfulness, President Gaston ("Gastounet") Doumergue rushed back to Paris to perform the only one of his duties which is of any real importance --picking a new Prime Minister.

There were three alternatives:

1) Ask Briand to form his twelfth cabinet, but he had already told correspondents he would refuse, "Mais non! Mais non!"

2) Call a statesman from the Right or Centre, preferably go-getting Andre Tar-dieu, "The Most American of Frenchmen," whom Raymond Poincare was grooming for the Prime Ministry before his illness.

3) Give the parties of the Left another chance. Once they stood together as the famed Cartel des Gauches (TIME, April 20, 1925) which made Herriot and Painleve prime ministers. But of late Radicals have clawed Radical Socialists, who in turn have clawed Socialists, rendering all the Left parties relatively impotent. Only a new leader, young and full of fight, could resuscitate the Cartel, which, if it could be resuscitated, would be much the largest Chamber group.

For three days the President pondered, watched the Radical Socialist Party Congress which had meantime assembled in War-ravaged Rheims (now restored).

Winning Lineup. Conscious of the Presidential eye, the Radical Socialists, who often squabble among themselves like tomcats, passed three rousing, unanimous votes. As one man they got behind pugnacious, heavy-jowled Edouard Daladier, re-elected him President of the Party. The second unanimous vote showed that M. Daladier has recently patched up his quarrel with his former patron Edouard Herriot, who was whooped into a Vice-Presidency. Lastly the Party tricked out as another Vice-President their wiliest wangler, bald, unsavory Joseph Caillaux, who was banished as a traitor for five years from the region of Paris, was deprived of his civic rights for ten years, later twice became Minister of Finance. From Paris it looked as if the Radical Socialists had got together a winning lineup. President Doumergue hesitated no longer, called Edouard Daladier to the Elysee, made him Biggest-Frenchman-of-the-Week by asking him to form a Cabinet.

Success depended entirely, of course, on whether Radical Socialist Daladier could get the support of the Socialists and other Left parties. A magnet for this purpose would be M. Briand, if he could be induced to accept under Daladier his favorite post of Foreign Minister. Hastily the young, ambitious comer sought the shrewd, calculating oldster. In effect M. Briand told him: "Get the rest of your Cabinet together. I'll think it over."*

Twenty-four hours later, with many posts still vacant, M. Briand shrugged bearish shoulders, promised to join the Daladier Cabinet anyway. Jubilant, Edouard Daladier waved juicy promises and concessions under the noses of Socialists who still stubbornly held out against joining a Cabinet which they could not control.

* Although definitely of the Left, M. Briand is really a statesman above party. Technically he is the leader of the minute "French Socialist Party" which split off from the "Socialist Party" in 1919. Careless of affiliations, he has held the Foreign Office under Prime Ministers of almost every party.