The Daily Worker Newspaper, August 5, 1933, Page 5

EINER EHO THE NEW MOSES By H. §. "HE executive office of Ballyhoo, Inc., Washington, D. C. The. Chief is at his desk. Two secre- taries stand on his right and two on his left. The-chief secretary, is behind him. A man is at the: door. . BARON Communists, who ‘don’t count. The Chief: We are concerned | only with those who have money. | | Chief Secretary: Your radio ad- dress, sir! (The Chief nods). Chief Secretary: The Chief will | deliver his radio address now. | Door man, (opening door): The | Chief Secretary: The Great: |- Chief is ready. ; Achievement Order is next on (The words are repeated in the | your program, sir. corridor, A voice answers. “We're | i ‘ ready). | The Chief: Yes, yes. The Great Achievement Order is next. o First Secretary: Here it is. lays it before him.) (He The Chief: It is a great day for, | (He smiles.) The the country. Chief Secretary: smiled. Doer Man (opening door): Chief smiled. (The words are heard repeated in the corridor as the door ; is shut.) F The Chief: What is it about? First Seoretary: This order, sir; di with the lowering of the Ss of all our rivers, so as to make it impossible for the existing beats to sail on them. Second Secretary: This, sir, will necessitate the building of new boats. The number of new boats that will have to be built this year to replace the old are conserva~ y estimated at one million. One million boats. The .) When I plece my sign. to this Great Achievement. the wheels of industry will, ving again. out to my friends, the news- men, i ‘ f Secretary: The wheels of y ere moving again. Man (opening door): The of ind moving na e words cre heord ropeated in the corridor as the door is '} clozed.) The news has waiting world, The Chief: I will sign the order, Chief Secretary: Six pens, sir, The Chief: Six? (He counts’ ui on his fingers). Eleven zy. Chief Secretary. I wish ord all my faithful servants: The five secretaries bow grate~'” fuily). , Chief Secretary: Eleven pens and. admit the six gentlemen waiting to receive them. : (The door man opens the The door man places a box pens on the desk). First Gentleman: We are here, _ sir. Second Gentleman: For the pens, sir. Third Gentleman: which you, <r. Fourth Gentieman: Will dip in- to ink, sir, - Fifth Gentleman: And out of it will flow, sir. Sixth Gentleman: Our milk and sir, The Six.. Gentlemen: Prosperity a Prosperity! (They smack their lips). f ‘he Chief: The great and last~ ing prosperity, gentlemen! and giving each of the eleven men™ one. finishes the signature). Secretaries and Gentlemen: What"| Chief | Send the good. | pens’:| (He>| signs the order, using eleven pens="|° He rubs his hands as weal Chief Secretary: All is ready, | sir. | (The Chief clears his throat). The Chief; My pedple. We are engaged in a war against this great depression. I can proudly say that ours is the greatest de- pression in the history of man- os one sahiien “pengte hati | kind. No other country could | a ae ore ee | have this depression because we | Here are the | are the greatest people on the | wake one mem face of this earth and anything one boat. co '.that is gigantic of course belongs | tly what |) to us. reta (He rubs. Now, my people, I have a sim- ple remedy for ending this de- \“pression. I want you all to co- | operate with me tomorrow and j-I assure you that we shall have }~prosperity the next day. Follow | }.me and this depression will eva- | {~porate like mist before the strong “rays of the sun. | When wages are high and every- |sone is working, there can be no | -depression. This is simplicity it- | \_ self. Follow me, my people and I | "will lead you out of the wilder- | ness. | Chief Secretary: Hail our new Moses! / Four Secretaries and Door man, | | Qwho opens the door): Hail our | new Moses. (The words are repeated in the | corridor as the curtain falls). aaa | Couldn’ t Stand To See that Cotton I By ESTHER LOWELL FRIEND of mine reports the following conversation with a | aNegro boy hitch-hiker whom he picked up on the road to Baltimore. | The boy, about 16 years old, was |. just. off a share-cropper’s 20-acre cotton patch in Florida. His grand- father was the cropper. The boy pulled out, he said, when they started to plowing up ten acres of the 20 he had helped plant, cul- ‘|, tivate and nurse along. “I couldn't stand to see that cot- ton go under. So I up an left. “J Besides, they didn’t have no more a] ot use for me with only 10 acres cot- ton.” My friend asked whether the croppers were to get any part of the government bounty paid to the landlords for plowing up the acre- age. 5 “Deed I never hear nothing , about that,” the boy answered. “No suh. I hear a lot of talk about 16 cent cotton if we plow um up but I ain’t hear nothing about getting no six or no other dollars jess for plowin’ it up. No suh!” ; Later the boy said: “Maybe my granpap didn’t tell me about that six dollar a acre bounty money, They don’t talk much about dat plowin’ up stuff when I is round ‘cause they knows I is dead agin. They knows I jess raise a fuss when they talk about plowin’ up cotton, Whyin did we plant and tend it for? Jess to plow it up? Tain’t no sense to it! “That cotton down roun’ Guth- rie, Ga., now that is some cotton. _ 1 went out in it and was clean | Go Under”’] He Said gusto! ~ |. above my knees already. And they The Chief: I have a new idea,.,,. a splendid idea, gentlemen, to solve the unemployment problems of all. countries. We will lower the levels. of all seas and byild new ships! .. (The gentlemen and | are speechless with admiration). Send a call for a conference of ~ all world powers. < Co) Secretary: Send a call f a world conference! * relatively unimportant. Hone is i rm e g contemptible. _[ months. was plowing it up! “They comes roun’, these gov’- ment men, three together to talk _ about this plowin’ up business. - They talks and talks but I don’t An Anaemic Portrait of the Romanovs' THE REAL ROMANOYS, by Gleb) Botkin, Fleming H. Kevel Uo, | 330 pp. $3. | Reviewed by HYMAN BARUFKIN E son of the late Czar Nicholas’ family physician since 1908, Gleb Botkin grew up close to the czar's palace in Czarskoe Selo, and is presumed to be in an exceptional position to know the “real” Ro- manovs intimately. And, though writing his book in New York many years after the Czar's family has passed out of existence, he never refers to them by any other name but “His Majesty,” Her Majesty, The Grand Duchesses,” ete. Of the workers and peasants who took part in the revolution he speaks as “the most frightful- looking, dirty, ragged, drunken cut- throats I haye ever seen.” In an- other place he says that: “It is true however, that the vast majority of the so-called commissars who led | that anti-religious campaign, were | Jews. Among the favorite methods | of desecrating the Russian churches | was to have prostitutes (and to him all women who took part in the revolution are “prostitutes”) sit naked on the Communion tables and stage orgies in the sanctuaries.” | Thus, through these vicious slan- | ders, Botkin assures the world‘ that he is still a good monarchist, a | hater of the masses and the “beast of Bolshevism,” and a staunch anti-semite. It is this that makes it of particular interest to see his Picture of the real Romanovs, What the author calls a “perverse psychology” we find, showed itself | in all the doings at the Czar’s | palace. For instance, “Once, in the | preesnce of the emperor, two aristo- cratic . gentlemen were discussing the propriety of eating onions. “No person of decent birth will eat such an ill-smelling vegetable,” said one of them. “Precisely,” the other responded. ‘To like onions is extremely vulgar; such taste can indeed be accepted as an unmistakable proof of a man’s low origin.’ | The emperor winked to my | father and turning to the two | | snobs, said: “‘I always suspected that I am of a very low origin. I just love onions.’” o. * Ue 'UCH profound problems engaged | the minds of the rulers of one- | sixth of the earth. And hardly anything else could be expected of them, when we see them in Botkin’s light. He says that a General Yoyekeff, who held the high posi- tion of Palace Commandant, “was an accomplished type of a par- venue” (An upstart), and was mainly interested in making a good impression on people who could help advance his personal forturie. One very familiar personage whom the author described intim- ately is Madame Vyrubova. About her he relates that: “Some of her friends laughed themselves to tears when she received her doctor in their presence and insulted on tak- ing off every scrap of clothing for the purpose of haying her throat examined! In the Crimea she had a room opposite a sentry post, and the soldiers complained officially to their officers of the anguish she caused them by constantly appear- ing at her window in a state of nudity.” Elsewhere he tells about “Mme. Vyrubova, although occupying no official position remained the Empress’ closest friend and con- stant companion; in consequence, she was one of the most influen- tial personages in the whole Rus- sian Empire . . . For she it was who worshipped Rasputin as a saint, and who did everything in her power to keep him in the good graces of the Sovereigns. Nor was she merely Rasputin’s chief protectoress; she was also his obedient tool, fulfilling his every wis and using her in- fluence for the purpose of having men agreeable to him appointed to positions of high responsi- bility.” ~ . Sarah ND yet Mr. Botkin tries his hardest to clear the Czarina of the reports about her relations with that pervert Rasputin. One more incident is worth no- tice. he author tells of his drawing animal pictures in hia boyhood. He created kingdom of different kind of animals and dressed them in uniforms of generals, kings and emperors, This once became a grave issue at the Ozar’s palace. ‘Thus we see the crowd of im- beciles and perverts who for cen- ‘zackly what they say, cause - ‘fore they get good and started I get so mad.I jess got to get outen i turies held in thetr hands the des- tintes and lives of 180,000,000 People. We can only wonder at their having lasted so long. Reviewed by DAVID PLATT BELOW” produced by , Navy, is one of the most danger- |_.Ously provocative films in defense / and praise of imperialist war that gs come to the screen in many 5 This is one of the most Tecent of the long string of subtle “War propaganda film releases to _ynave the endorsement and assist- st of the Roosevelt administra- ion. Durante to provide insane laughs in’ the midst of brutal submarine cwerfarc and employs fantastic <heroics and climaxes a la Holly- “wood ‘to win sympathy ~for the U. 8. Navy, is called “entertain- ment” by the MGM _ producers. Maal this terrific flag-waving film entertaining is beyond question. The producers, with the aid of the ‘ie ea cota fe propaganda for war is hardly detectable at a vlance and un-classconscious work- vers who see the film remain for ithe most part unaware that along y;with the thrilling entertainment, A FILM FOR WAR they are swallowing whole drafts of deadly poisons. [ALTER HUSTON, who will be remembered for his portrayal of the President in Gabriel Over the White House — is the official spokesman for the United States Navy in this film. Huston takes the part of the commander of the submarine and plays his part to perfection, always of course under the watchful gaze of the U. 8. Navy. The period of battle is the sub- marine warfare between the U.S.A, and Germany in 1918, another at- tempt to whip up pro-war spirit against the potential enemy. To- day it is still Germany, but how long will it be before the films begin to actually locate the enemy in the Soviet Union? It will be an ‘easy task to substitute the Bol- shevik for the Hun. RELIGION IN USSR After having been out of print for a number of months, Religion in the U.S.S.R., by E. Yaroslavsky is now reissued by the Internationa’ Publishes _ & My Poor Friend By DANIEL BLOOM (9 years old) Why is this boy so poorly dressed, And his home smaller than a nes 9 And other boys always play, And play all the day? All the toys are other boys’ And he has not a toy. And my fight will never end Till I know he is my friend Come, my friend, and let us fight, For we know we'll win the right. Let us fight for the right to share, And we will fight like a lion there. (Reprinted from the August “New Pioneer”). MOVIE REVIEWS HEROES FOR SALE Reviewed by SAM BRODY. E is being shown at the Strand Theater in New York a tremendcus!y ballyhooed and long- | awaited film originally scheduled to be released under the suprisingly bold title of “The Breagline.” But, | incredible as it may seem a good | box-office title has been sacrificed to avoid mentioning the unmen- tionable, and the film has now been released under the innocent alias of “Heroes For Sale.” Shortly before his death Harry Alan Potamkin made a prediction about the nature of this then forth- coming film in a lecture before the Workers Film and Photo League on “Hollywood and The Social Film.” He stated that judging even from the meaer information available to him at the time, it could be safely foretold that “The Breadline” would prove to be one of the most reactionary of the recent wave of so-called “topical story” movies, Last night we saw the film. Com- rade Potamkin’s prediction could not have been more exact. “Heroes For Sale’ is the most uncom- promisingly vicious anti-working class propaganda that Hollywood has ever produced. It is a cynically frank attack on communism and an open threat against -the rising discontent and militancy of the American masses agains unemploy- ment, wage-cuts and hunger. The well-known Hollywood stunt of portraying the radical as a hope less pathological case of a stam- mering idiot Gabried Over the White House (Front Page, Halle- lujah I'm a Bum) has here been carried to an extreme where the foam of hysteria shows at the producers mouths. “When you get to be my age you'll have a bomb in every pocket!” Thus the “red” in the story is made to speak to a young worker. This same “red” is later made to become enormously wealthy through some laundry in- vention and to pace madly about the screen heaping the vilest insults upon the “lazy unemployed.” Moreover, he is a foreigner who speaks with an accent and whose eccentricities are calculated to create a. derisive response in the audience. Significantly enough this is the part that was pointed out for special commendation by the New York Times reviewer! Workers who fight against unem- ployment are shown as thugs and machine-wreckers. Unemployment. and wage-cuts are the result of the introduction of new machinery by heartless bosses. (There is, of course, a boss with a big heart in the film who sees to it that Jabor- saving machines be used solely to increase the leisure of his workers and make it easier for them while on the job). A prize fairy-tale in the picture is that breadlines and destitution aren’t so bad after all, inasmuch as both rich and poor have been pauperized by the de- pression! Here is a typical utter- ance by the unemployed hero that should gladden the hearts, if not fill the stomachs, of America’s seventeen million jobless: “We may be through, but America isn’t. It's | just beginning!” And “It takes more than one sock on the jaw to lick 120,000,000 people! “The morale of this is that plenty of socks are yet to come, and the workers had better get ready to jtake them. ‘There is a reference to Roosevelt's Inaugural Address which inspires one of the “breadliners” to say that things are not so bad after all. IKE its predecessors (Washing- ton Merry-Go-Round, Conquer- ors, Gabriel Over the White House, ete.) the “new deal” propaganda in “Heroes Fi ale” is wound around a scenario so incredibly confused and unreal that it falls | short to a gr t extent of being as effective capitalist propaganda as | it to be. | its producers intended It reflects all the fears, the c fusion, the insanity of a ruling class that is beginning to perceive a rapidly approaching disaster. As a creative work it offers nothing but / the most negative qualities, never rising to anything aboye gloomy cynicism. But it remains uncom- promisingly bitter at all times, ter with the hatred of the class that produced it, Workers! Don't dare fight us! -Here is our effi- ciently organized police force with its sub-machine guns and tear gas | bombs ready to annihilate you. Don’t follow the Communists! They are madmen who will desert you after they have themselves be- come capitalists. Things are tough nowadays, but they might be worse. And so on until the film, the medium employed to tell you these things, degenerates into,a loose compilation of poorly related se- quences in which the unfortunate actors no longer seem to under- stand what they themselves are saying, nor the director what he is really after. Films of the “Heroes For Sale” | type act as a sort of bridge in the present period to the eventual complete transition to the out- right political newsfilm which has been developed on a gigantic scale during the last four years. All of which signifies that the bourgeois film as “entertainment,” as “art” has now confpletely collapsed, even as the mere pretense which it had always been, and that we are now | confronted with the open, unres- | tricted use of the screen as a weap- on in the fight of the ruling class against the rising wave of revolu- tionary struggle against war, hun- ger and unemployemnt. GORKY ON WAR “And if war breaks out against the class for which I live and toil, I too will join its battalions as a common soldier. I will join, not because I know it will be victor, but because of the working class of the Soviet Union is also my cause, my duty.” Thus writes Maxim Gorky in his new book On Guard for the Soviet Union, just issued by International OSCAR E + Page Fiv | GREAT DEMOCRACIES QDBERS — A century and a half since the Philadel- t>phia- Congress. The elite of the European col- ony has gathered in e festive | hall of the consulate in order to | pay ‘homage to the only victor, to | {cthe’ land of progress, freedom and ithe almighty dollar. Lincoln and Washington hang in their bronze frames in the stifling atmosphere oF moist heat, ‘The blaze of a brass band burst out. The stars and stripes of dem- y from its flag pole. With quick s the consul comes forward to the center of the hall ~and unrolis the Declaration of In- dependence, The consul coughs... All wait breathlessly, We will soon hear those words which resounded } through the ages like a peal of thunder. We will soon hear the proud song of liberation and equal- ity, I look at my neighbors—busi. négss-like Americans, prim English- men with greying imperials. They all wear solemn and severe clothes. All bend their heads as if they were in.church. HEROES OF SHANGHAI The consul coughs and casts a scrutinizing glance about him. A half a minute passes in tense si- Yence. {This lets us collect our thoughts an drealize what this ereatent of declarations means in he land of barbarism and despot- ism. In the light of the declara- tion of the Philadelphia Congress eyerything that has been done dur- ing the past few years since the Washington Congress should bear a different aspect. But I, appa- rently, have a narrow outlook. In this half minute I recall not the ~heroes of the American revolution, | but the Shanghai rickshaws. A rickshaw man who runs about in the European quarters of the city from 7 o'clock in the morning until 1 o’clock at night, when the theatre crowds are out, earns one dollar if he is lucky. Of this sum | he gives 80 to the owner of the t | sul reads in a | carriage, and 10 cents to the city jas a tax. He has only ten cents | jeft. He can live on this sum be- cause he walks about almost naked, sleeps on the street under his car- | riage and does not know the mean- | ing of family life. The only thing |, he needs is a bowl of rice, and - from time to time a pipe of opium. UT here an American banker Who speculates on the fluctua- tion of the exchange rate of silver, steps in. He examines the ex- “Change bulletin, click the calculator and sends a telegram to his broker | om the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Chinese money changers, Bombay |_Jews and American brokers ex- “change notes, a beardless clerk makes an entry in a thick ledger | and the ten cents of our rickshaw | man_is converted into five, The | remaining five cents becomes a part | of those dividends which the ‘American bankers pays out at the {vend of the year to his countrymen. |-80 per cent — smaller dividends |‘owould be unworthy of the colonial ‘banks! The rickshaw man sees his money vanish before his eyes with Publishers. It is his unequivocal} despair: and his tired legs tremble | stand with the revolution which has| and give way beneath him. A bowl | made him beloved by untold millions.| of rice a day! ‘That is all he would In his new book, Gorky exposes the| need to live those five or six years danger of war and calls in clarion “which form the allotted span of tones for the defense of the Soviet | ‘such a man-horse as he, But you Union. (International Publishers, 381| cannot buy a bowl of rice nowa- $1.50). Weighing these five cents in the ‘palm of his hand, the rickshaw | the Commission of Inquiry: | 1 | | Fourth Ave. N. ¥., Board $.75, Cloth) “days with these dwindling coins. | |°man stumbles his way beneath the THE COMPANY UNION UNDER % NRA awnings of the opium den. es the chapter of The Company Union in his book The Americani- zation of Labor, issued by Interna- tional Publishers, Robert W. Dunn describes the various types of com- pany unions and the methods used by the workers to fight them. A SCENE AT THE REAL WORLD'S FAIR From the Chicago “World's Fair,” a skit prosented at the Daily Worker Picnic by tue Wetkers’ Laboratory Theagem | | local rice and sent it abzoad, and | | COUGHING OF CHINESE KIDS |. “Did you ever hear the cough- _,ing, not of consuls, but of eleven- year-old Chinese children who | work in American and English cotton mills, who creep about on _, the stone floor among the sticky _ scraps of cotton, in darkness, fiilth, and stifling heat, twelve or fourteen hours a day for a daily wage of nine cents? They are hoarse; something | seems to be boiling in their nar- row chests; their faces become suffused with a hectic flush, their ‘eyes bulge, their foreheads are goyered with beads of perspiration; in, their moaning they spit out moisture in which white fluff | floats; it is the cotton dust which settles on the lungs. After every such coughing fit they drop down | in exhatstion, losing consciousness | | completely. These are children who clean cotton during the night shift, T¥onT-six in the evening until eight | the following morning. But then, | | they bring home nine cents for | WhY¥ch a half pound of rice can be | pought for their younger brothers | | } and Sisters. But not so fest! Can it redlly be bought? American ex- portérs created a boom this year on the Shanghai Corn Exchange; they bought up the high quality for the Chinese they brought in a cheaper quality from Saigon, for which ‘they charged four cents per pound more. . Be N Saturday morning a little boy toceived a quarter of a pound 18S ‘Tice than usual in the store. Me looked at the fat storekeeper im amazement but the latter ex- plained to him that the price of wea had gone up. That meant , Picture Pamphlet that some of his brothers ters would go hungry. “WHEN IN THE COUR I look at my tw the left, a bald turer and an ag of compa: lean and dressed I frock coat, who with bowed he: to the reading of of Inde; dence. course of h becomes _nece: to dissolve which have another, and to me among th powers of the earth the separ and equal station to which the la of and nature entitle the: He reads the Bill of Ri which has caused the hearts of s many generations of fighters for freedom to beat faster, in the same monotone as he would read a bill of fare, a stock exchange bulletin or | a@ railway time-table. He is not put to shame by these words and is not inflamed by them. * We hold,” he continues, “these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with | certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes de- structive cf these ends, it is the right of the people to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such prin- ciples and organising its power in such form, as to them shall seem most likly to effect their safety and happiness. “... To effect thelr safety and happiness! . om EFORE me looms a figure dressed in a neatly fitting khaki uni- form with a broad belt of shiny brown leather. It is Captain Wright, one of the leaders of the Foreign Volunteer Corps in Shan- ghai. He stands at attention, does not stir, just as if-he were spell- bound by the heroic pathos of the Declaration of Independence. He is the direct descendant of those | who fought in the ranks of the Massachusetts militia attacking the English at Lexington. “It is the right of the people to abolish it and to institute a new government! ...” On May 30, 1925, Captain Wright with his detachment scoured the neighborhood of Inspector Evan- son's police station for six days. Inspector Evanson had issued an order “shoot to kill!” And kill they did. They killed unarmed coolies and young students because they knew that if the American dollar were going to make its way in China, it must be supported: by bayonets. Of course, Captain Wright for the “open door polic; of course, he is against “privileges,” but ... the dollar! . . . The dollar demands that its way should be clear, And that is why Captain Wright was ruthless. On the first day he caused forty-six demonstra- tors to be struck down. on the streets of Shanghai, and on the following days sixty-five were killed and two hundred and fifty were wounded. Inspector Evanson, the colleague of Captain Wright was asked by “Did you think a crowd of two thousand peeple would be able to disperse within the ten seconds which you gave them?” “No, I did not think that,” In- that | on Mooney Case TOM MOONEY: STORY IN PICTURES, by Anton Refregier. Published by International Labor Defense, Price 5 cents, ‘S picture-pamphiet by Anton Refregier, revolutionary artist, and leading member of the New York John Reed Club, should be utilized as an effective propaganda weapon in the fight to free Tom Mooney and Billings. It contains a vigorous introduc- tion by Theodore Dreiser, noted American novelist, and provides thru the medium of dramatic dvawings, the whole story of the Mooney frame-up: the labor strug- gies on the Pacific Coast which led up to it as well as the 17-year can m to force the release of th'r famous labor prisoner. ‘The pamphlet contains 24 draw- ings, accompanied by a running text which summarizes vividly the whole story of the frame-up. The | prison scenes particularly have a genuinely authentic character, the ertist having made these drawings on the basis of minute di given him by various y of Tom Mooney in San Quentin, now released. “Tom Mooney: Story in Pictures” contains the nce of scores of bocks, pamphlets and artic the frame-up. Its pictorial chera ter makes it an unusually popular medium for reeching thousands of workers, —s. G. * Monkey A “HERO” Inspector Evanso. recommended for a medal “for bravery” alhtough all those mur- dered Chinese got bullets in ther backs and their sides. Captain Wright had to be satisfied with “honorable mention” because cau- tious Americans do not like to give publicity to such affairs. I won- der whether Captain Wright is now thinking about all this as he has now been stands at attention, and listens to ~~ the monotonous reading of the De- claration of Independence? We, therefore, the repre- es of the United States of rica,” the consul reads on, “in general Congress assembled, ap- pealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our institutions, do, in the Name and by authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these United Colonies, solemnly publish and de- clare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all Political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved. . A deafening outburst from the brass band drowns the last words of the Declaration. Evervone breathes a sigh of relief, all elbow their way to the veranda. Standing near the marble balus- trade, I observe the wind from the bay playing with the luxuriant foliage of the magnolia trees. Be= yond those trees, against the emerald waters of the bay. stants the French consulate. The Tri- color, once the emplem of the Na~ tional Guard now the banner, of the Republic of stock brokers, re-- negades and secret royalists, waves above the consulate. It flutters in the gay wind, flashing red and blue. Above the flag staff, attracted by the gay colors, a kite is soaring. On its spread pinions, the bird of prey circles round in decreasing rings, Then it folds its wings and drops almost vertically upon the golden knob of the flag staff. There it sits, immobile, majestic, proud, Ca aie Saas slaps me on the shoul- der. Tt is Renault a young French journalist. To judge from. his face, he is moved; he looks en- raptured. ; “The American Declaration,” he. says, “is the mother of our Decla-: ration of Rights. It says: ‘People are created and remain free and equal in their rights. Social dif- ferences cannot be based on ange thing else than general welfare.” In honor of the holiday he ape parently wants to be friendly ané say something pleasant to me. But I am not in the mood. I raise my hand and point to the building of the French Consulate, “Look, Monsieur Renault,” I say,: “look how that kite has settled om your standard.” “You are mistaken,” Monsieur retorts and offers me a cigar; “you are not familiar with heraldry; the emblem of France is a Gallic cock. “Thank you,” I answer, taking the Manila cigar, “but France has already outgrown the cock. France was once indeed a cock which roused humanity to creative labor and to struggle, dispersing the phantoms of night which haunted our sleep, Now France has become a bird of prey with cruel claws and a sharp beak, which seizes the weak and tears themsasunder. .. .” ONSIEUR RENAULT suddenly becomes serious. “Equality,* he says, “is possible only between equals. You labor under an illus:on when you judge . great democracies by the behavior of their sons in the colonies, where’ they are surrounded by the hatred of savages, and are forced to de-.. fend themselves, If you were in. America and in France, you would Pe sin 8 me “Monsieur Renault,” I intere., rupted, “I have never been to America but I have heard some- thing of the plundering of the farmers, of poison gases used against demonstrators, of bought votes and the oil fraud, of lynch- ing and the electric chair, of the Trial, the cornering of grain, the Ku Klux Klan and the long lines of unemployed standing before the miserable night lodgings in New York. I don’t think the road from .the poverty stricken tenement quarters to the luxurious Fifth Avenue is shorter than that . frem the foul cesspools of Chapet to the glittering Hotel Majestie. For ‘the nation which oppresses cannot be free... .’" Monsieur Renault turns his back | to show that he considers further conversation useless. I look up and see the kite still sitting in rigid! immobili | French Republic; and I recall Men- tor who, by the sudden flight off °” the birds, prophesied to Telemachus | the fate of Odysseus, and the in- i Blorious death of the lordly suite ors. (Front “Tales of Modern @hina,’ International Publishers), ak ity over the banner of the 4 RivrsaTe a2tbTarcacace \ teste tere ewer er em re mes On we ow