The Catholic times. [volume], February 13, 1953, Image 4

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THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times. Inc.
Columbus, Ohio
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This Paper Printed by Union Labor
Decontrol of Wajics
and Prices
This past week saw the end of all wage and
salary controls and of a good part of price controls
with the promise that decontrol of all other prices
would not be long coming. The action was hailed
with jubilation by those who have always opposed
any kind of restraint on our free economy and by
others with the hope that it marked a return to
a normal state of affairs where supply and demand
could be expected to set a fair and just price.
Naturally, there were some misgivings that the
lifting of controls would result in an unconscion
able increase in prices on the part ot some sellers.
That remains to be seen.
One of the obligations of a free economy is that
its members exercise restraint and practice justice
when there is no other force but their own con
science telling them to do so. If they dont, the gov
ernment has no alternative but to secure justice
for all by some sort of control. We can expect that
most sellers will exercise restraint in their new
freedom and that the evil effects of the actions of
the few who will not cooperate will not make neces
sary a return to controls.
Over the past twenty years the government has
come to play a more widespread and intimate part
in the economic life of the country. The lifting of
controls does not and cannot mean that it is re
jecting the role it has acquired in that period It
can no longer do that. I^isse faire is not only an
outmoded concept, it is impractical.
Supply and demand can make a lot of decisions
in a fair and just way but they cannot answer all the
questions that have to he answered in an economy
as complex as ours The complexity of our eco
nomic enterprises the size and consequent power
of the units involved make some overall direction
necessary.
It Is to invite chaos to leave the smooth running
of nur economy to the impersonal forces of supply
and demand Direction guiding and policing, when
it is needed come from intelligent action When
those who run the economy don’t offer it. experience
has made abundantly clear that the government
most.
It would he too bad if the lessons of twenty
years were lost in one day.
The government lets those segments of the
economy run themselves which are capable of dn
ing «o In the field of wages and prices it is hoped
that we have reached that stage.
Charity: The ull Story
Bishop Sheen has often done us the service nf
recalling to our attention that we Catholics stand
in danger nf falling into a common error in regard
to nur charity He would have us remember that the
object nf nur charity is not a case, known only by
Its number, but rather a person.
Ton often we look upon the poor, the helpless
and the sick as unnecessary hints on our community,
things to be removed or corrected even at the cost
nf contributions from ourselves Much the same as
holes in the road or refuse in the street.
Some may object that this is over drawn, and in
particular cases, it may he. 'loo many lines in the*
drawing, however, hear ton great a resemblance
tn the truth fnr us tn merely shrug the whole thing
off with a grimance.
We are not in any way disparaging the material
support of the charitable protects set up in our
communities under the auspices of Church or city
government Not in the least What we arc saying
is this: charity does not end there.
Tn think it docs, to think that our obligation to
our neighbor ends with mere monetary support is
to mistake the word "money” for the definition of
charity.
The definition of charity is love love of God
in Himself and in our neighbor The seven corporal
and spiritual works of mercy are the blueprints for
the practical application of this love among our
fellow men
One of the organizations offering the men nf
the Diocese the opportunity nf applying themselves
under direction tn the carrying nut of the precept
of charity is the St Vincent de Paul Society
Hardly two years old. the organization in this
Diocese offers its members the opportunity ot aid
ing the poor, the sick and the upnrcssed not only by
their generosity hut also by direct contact with
their suffering neighbors
Thus the men of the Society have established an
enviable record of visits to hospitals, rest homes
and prisons: some teaching Catechism in those
ame institutions and all this besides distributing
food clothing and financial aid totalling $6734
This ia the heartening story of real charity
Presently there are thirty three parish confer
ences in the Diocese numbering 342 members This
is the fart that makes their story stand out in hold
relief And at the same time, drives home a telling
point
If these particular parish conferences with their
relatively few number of men can establish such a
record what a marvelous goal could he reached tn
the Diocese if each Council in every parish was
fully operative
Seeing Is Believing?
A favorite gimmick’’ of motion picture and TV
producers is the use of different colored lights to
produce strange and startling effects. Bathed in
hues of solid purple, red or green, every day. com
mon place objects are twisted entirely out of pin
portion and become* terrifying, unnatural spectres
Seeing things as they are demands a “whole
light, if one composed of all the necessary seg
ments of the spectrum which go to make up nur
“Natural light When any one of the colors that
gn tn make up our natural light becomes tno strong
or tno weak we have as a result a presentation nf
something that is not true.
Very much the same thing happens when we
view not objects hut ideas in the varying shades
of color that are thrown upon them in the reports
of the press of today.
The total makeup of a person his hackground,
his grasp of the fundamental principles nf morality
and their bearing upnn the problems and questions
of the day will “color” everything he •-ays or writes
And viewing things, as we dn. through their
“eyes” we stand the chance of seeing them dis
torted.
This is the reason that it is so important to
have the facts bearing on the troubled world of
today presented by those who can see them in the
strong, white light of the teaching of the Church.
That is the great service of the Catholic press.
Those things which are most important in the
lives of us all, religion, economics, education and
the family, are fields wherein are rampant every
conceivable form of error. The presentation and
analyses of current events which are offered so
frequently today are vastly misleading precisely
.because of the light under which thev are seen.
It is easy enough to know that what we are see
ing is really there—what is difficult is being able
to tell that it is not being distorted by the faulty
light of some one’s interpretation.
The absolute necessity of being able to view
things in the light of Catholic principles can be
seen from a statement of Blessed Pius X. It was he
whn said, viewing the place of the Church in the
modern world. “In vain will you found missions and
build schools, if you are not able to wield the of
fensive and defensive weapon of a loyal Catholic
press!”
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
Radio, motion pictures, and television are three
very powerful instruments of education. These
agencies were designed for imparting information
and giving pleasure, but their very nature involves
the teaching function Producers and broadcasters
come to entertain, but they remain to teach. De
spite protestations and disclaimers, the three mod
ern methods of steeping life in electronics and im
ages exercise an incalculably great influence upon
the tastes, the manners, the habits, and the morals
of all our people. Notably, of course, this influence
is felt among the young
Now. notwithstanding the fact that good sense
and experience are opposed to the policy of “there
ought to be a law.” we are faced with the necessity
of finding some means short of coercion of making
new teachers accept the responsibilities as well as
the functions of their teaching office. There must, of
course, be freedom of expression.—of speech and
of picture-making. But there is another freedom
which has tn he respected, and upon which the
freedom of expression cannot impinge without
losing its character as a right and becoming an
oppression.
This other freedom is the right of every man
to have respect, the right to live in peace of mind
and soul without having his appreciation of human
decencies outraged by what is publicly said or
shown. Human right is limited by human right, not
to mention the paramount claims of divine right.
One man s right to do as he likes is limited by his
neighbor’s light to live without being nagged, badg
ered. or persecuted. II lorn has the right to freedom
ot speech Dick and Harry have the right to an
unoffended hearing. And the right that infringes
upon an equal or superior right in another, ceases
to be a right at all.
If I own my house. 1 may do what I like with it.
That is my right. But if I choose to burn my house,
1 find that my right ceases, because my next door
neighbors have a right to live in their house with
out the menace of destructive fire deliberately set.
There has to he take as well as ptue. and ptue as
well as take, in human relationships. Men have so
cial duties as well as individual rights.
For the balanced respect lor human rights which
makes for decent and seemly living, civil laws are
usually poor instruments, and are always instru
ments of the last resort Men are expected to be rea
sonable, since by nature they are rational. A neces
sary ingredient in I he many factored scheme of so
cial relations and responsibilities is. in addition to
justice, the spirit of charity, of fairness, of self
sacrificing generosity. If this spirit is lacking, it is
vain to seek to establish it by enacting civil laws.
Ir itself it is an enactment of the natural law, which
is, a* St. Paul says "the law of God written in your
hearts, your conscience hearing testimony.”
Certainly, in the major matters of morals and
the forming ol character, a tremendrtus responsi
bility rests upon teachers, and hence upon the peo
pie who bring us radio programs, and motion pic
tures, and 'IV shows And there is a similar respon
sibility. far less weighty but still important, incumb
ent upon broadcasters and producers, for correct
ly teaching minor things, such as speech habits,
It is of this lesser, hut no means trivial matter that
we wish particularly to speak.
Consider the "aaaah" sound, introductory or in
tcrjectional. which features the talk of our radio
and TV incn. newscasters, panelists, and such. The
cinema is not in this special discussion, nor are
those TV shows and films which involve study and
supervised rchenrsal We arc concerned now with
the ad libbers and those who prepare their own
scripts These arc the "aaah aaah” boys (and girls)
without peer.
Says a local TV newsman “Aaah. today we
have ah quite a few ah important hits of news to
bring you First of all ah. there was ah much ex
citement this morning when ah some irresponsible
oi intoxicated person turned in three fire-alarms
in as many minutes. Aaah. or course, there was no ah
fire at all The whole thing was-ah either a piece of
ah weak minded clowning lat considerable ah ex
pence Io ah taxpayers), or an instance of ah malic
ions and ah criminal mischief.” You all know the
kind of thing wp mean.
There is not a more meaningless and distressed
speech fault than the “aaah” habit. No habit is
mnre easily contracted: none is overcome with more
difficulty And surely there is no speech habit, short
of indecency of language which is more offensive
to hearers than this same "‘aaah” business.
What accounts for this bad habit? It is. perhaps,
the fact that a speaker who is slow of thought, or
impoverished in the tools of expression feels that
he must somehow hold the attention of his audience
by making some sound while hr gropes for words or
ideas’’ However the matter may he explained, it
will hardly hc excused There is nothing that can
justify a man in the unaccountable action of ad
dressing his fellows by blatting at them like a
sheep, or bawling at them like a cow.
All teachers in schools know how prevalent the
aaah habit is among pupils. Called upon tn recite,
eight of ten pupils will invariably utter an "aaah”
before saying an intelligible word. As the recitation
proceeds, the pupil, groping in memory (or fancy)
for the right thing to say. interjects many an
“aaah” from want of knowledge or from sheer
force of habit.
Ur expect our public and universal teachers on
radio and TV to help us all correct this bad habit,
not to confirm us in it and tn teach it tn nur children
Rut they arc nnt helping, far from it. These teachers
arc the outstanding carriers of the "aaah” disease,
and we seem helpless in the surging flood of their
contagion.
Up resent the action nf a person who coughs
and sneezes in our very faces We should resent
as much the public speaker who spews his inane
aaah’s” into our ears.
•ri"’
’v
THE CATHOLIC TIMES, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1953
jf
WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON—The prospect
that Congress will take some ad
ditional action to curb the
spread of obscene reading mat
ter and other materials seems
brighter right now than it has
for sonic time.
This is largely due to the fact
that the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee has already acted—ear
ly in the first session of the 83rd
Congress to ••eport favorably
a bill to prohibit the transpor
tation of obscene matter in inter
state or foreign commerce. The
measure is identical with a bill
passed by the Senate in the 82nd
Congress, but upon which the
House of Representatives did not
act. It is fully expected that
the Senate will again pass the
bill, and since the Gathings
Committee brought out some
startling disclosures on this sub
ject the House toward the
close of the last Congress, there
is stronger hope today that that
body will act. and favorably, on
this occasion.
Incidentally, there has been
introduced in th® House by Rep
resentative Carroll D. Kearns of
Pennsylvania a resolution to
establish a select committee of
the House which would study
the extent to which obscene mat
ter is sent through the mails and
weigh the adequacy of existing
law to combat this practice.
“There can he no quarrel with
the premise tha' the trafficking
in such obscene matter on a com
mercial basis should be discour­
LOL! IS I. HI DENZ
Conviction of 13 Communist
leaders at the second trial at
Foley Square, New York, has sei
off a wave of undue optimism
among certain
edit ors and
o e nta
tors. To read
their accounts
it would be
thought that
the Red con
spiracy here is
dead and done
for A reading,
day by day
and week by
week, of the Siahmte publica
tions and directive sheets will
bring about a more sober view.
fe-..
The continued functioning of
the conspiracy, as revealed in
those pages, can only indicate
direction from an underground
Pohtboro. probably including
some of those Reds who have
become fugitives from justice.
It also points to a thoroughly
underground representative of
Moscow supervising the entire
proceedings a man of the
type of Gerhart Eisler.
Front*’ Now Rolt
One of the chie» outward man
ifestations of this subterranean
direction is th*1 vigor of the
Communist fronts They furnish
current food for thought—and
action. It must be remembered
that during the H’tler Stalin pact
period, the Red 'eadership here
had prepared to make an import
ant front of that time, the Amer
lean Peace Mobilization, a re
serve for the Communist Party
should the party,be compelled
to go complete’y underground
More and more, something of
that same nature is happening
today The fronts, always trans
mission belts for the Communist
line, are becoming the open rep
resentatives of the party, even
though a few innocents among
I
Catholic Press Month
A
1
Expect Curbs On Printed Filth
OB i
■Bl :/Z
V
rlZr
aged,” the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee said in reporting Bill S.
10 favorably to the Senate.
“Nothing good could come of
the permitting .if such traffick
ing in any possible way there
fore, since the traffickers are
aware of the loophole in the law
permitting them to transport
such matter in private convey
ances, the door on such activi
ties should be closed firmly by
the enactment of this ball.”
It is difficult for the average
person to see how anyone could
defend the practice of transport
ing some of the obscene material
that has come into the hands of
Government investigators into
this practice.
And yet. there has heen per
sistent and continuous opposi
tion to congressional efforts to
tighten the laws governing such
things. Interference with the.
“freedom of the press” and in
vasion of personal rights and
privacy have heen some of the
arguments which have been put
forth. Perhaps the strangest,
and at times most disappointing,
obstacle that has been interpos
ed to congressional action have
heen the jocular and even flip
pant attitude which some secu
lar newsmen have adopted in re
porting congressional hearings
dealing with law- against obscen
ity
The principal problem con
fronting the committee was the
number of articles the transpor
tation nf which would create
Don't Forget The Fronts
their sponsors may be unaware
of that development.
The latest of these Red crea
tions, the National Committee to
Secure Justice in the Rosenberg
Case, is working teverishly. It is
getting into many organizations
and areas of influence with its
fantastic charge that the convic
tion of the Rosenbergs for trea
son is the result of ‘‘anti-Semi
tism.” The committee has been
able to gel around in this fash
ion even though it is loaded
doten with veteran Coyimunist
frontiers, men and women whose
affection for Communist causes
should be well recognized by
now. We note Rockwell Kent,
who up to date has been a mem
ber of fully 90 of those fronts
and is also president of the Red
Adjunct, the International Work
ers Order. Also John Howard
Lawson and Ring Lardner, Jr.,
who went to jail for contempt
of Congress, members of the
“Hollywood Ten In addition,
among others, Howard Da Silva
and Morris Carnovsky of the en
tertainment industry and Philip
Evergood, the w11 known artist.
The names of these persons
have appeared Hme after time,
almost monotonously in the pag
es of the House Committee on
Un American Activities
Mixing Thing* Up
Many of the Older fronts are
equally full of life The Nation
al Council of the Arts. Sciences
and Professions, which has been
in the American scene since
1944. has recen'ly conducted a
series of meetings "protesting”
against the throwing of any
searchlight on subversion in ra
dio. television or the schools. In
October it coutd boast that it
had even persuaaed certain sec
tors of the television and radio
industry to close their eyes to
subversion. It spoke proudly
of its influence, to the same in­
.a*
the presumption that they were
being so transported and “are
intended for sale or distribur
tion,' says the report on the
hill by the Senate Judiciary
group. “While the committee
does not mean tc justify or con
done the possession and trans
portation of even one of such
articles, it necessarily must rec
ognize that some persons do car
ry on their persons one or more
such articles without any
thought of sale, resale, or to be
shown or distributed to any in
dividual under any circumstanc
es. Of necessaty, the number
raise the presumption nf hand
ling on a commercial basis must
he arbitrary.”
The bill, therefore, provides
that the transportation of two
or more copies of any publica
tion or any articles of a charac
ter described in the bill, or a
combined total of five such pub
lications or articles are intend
ed for sale or distribution.” But,
it is specifically provided that
“such presumption shall be re
buttable.”
All of this tends to illustrate
the difficulties that attend ef
forts to curb a practice which
the Department of Justice told
the last Congress aggravates the
juvenile delinquency problem,
creates racial tensions, works
with the white slave traffic, and
incites to the commission of sex
crimes and othei acts of immor
ality and vice.
tent and effect, upon the Au
thors’ League Radio Script
Writers Guild and other forces
in the television and radio fields.
The theater and TV actor John
Randolph even went so far,
through the council, to call for
a strike in defense of those ac
cused of subversion That pro
posal follows the pattern of mix
ing things up. at which the Com
munists and their friends are so
apt. It would give the appear
ance of a "labor issue” to some
thing which is quite to the con
trary.
The Daily Worker, speaking
for the underground Politburo,
was not content with that try
al confusion. It went farther,
in connection with the National
Council’s campaign to protect
subversives in the schools, by de
claring that the whole McCarran
investigation was “a massive con
spiracy” by the Catholic Church
“to discredit and cripple public
education” The Big Lie involv
ed in such a contention could be
proved by a score of arguments
and facts, but that does not
deter the Communists from
seeking to take advantage of
prejudice and tnus win allies, if
possible, in anti v'atbolic circles.
This is only the beginning of
the story of the Communist
fronts. The American Commit
tee for the Protection of the
Foreign Born is very busy seek
ing to keep Communist aliens in
this country, ft has always been
a standby for Red agents like
Eisler and is still at its old game.
We can be confident that the
government, particularly advised
by our alert FBI. is aware of the
injury to American security
from these fronts What is re
quired is a strong voice from the
citizens of this country, giving
support and encouragement to
the government to take steps
toward ending these activities.
INQUIRY CORNER
Did The Savior Teach
Eternal Punishment?
Did the kind Saviour teach
eternal punishment^
A. In describing the Last Judg
ment Christ said that: “Then he
will say to those on his left hand,
’Depart from me. accursed ones,
into the everlasting fire which
was prepared for the devil and
his angels.” (Matthew 25.41)
In other places He refers to it
(Mark 9:42: Luke 16:25-26) and
it is contained in many other
scriptural references (Isais
51:24 Daniel 12:2 2 Thessaloni
ans 1:7-9 Jude 1:6-8 Apocalypse
•14:11). Christ shows striking
kindness and mercy for the re
pentant. Those who died reject
ing Him remain fixed by their
own self-centered choice. No one
makes this choice without reject
ing numerous graces and kind
nesses. God will not force his
free creatures to choose Him.
Q. Is not the Communion Service
symbolic? Surely Catholics do
not believe that Christ’s real
flesh and blood are present tn
the Sacrament?
A. The Catholic Sacrament is
not merely symbolic. Catholics
believe that Christ is really
present as truly as He was in
the stable at Bethlehem or on
the Cross. It was difficult for
many to accept the Carpenter
from Nazareth as the Son of
God. They saw a man who look
ed like other men and found it
hard to accept his invisible divi
nity. Likewise it is difficult to
see an even humbler appearance
mere bread and wine, and accept
the real presence of Christ in
Holy Communion. Catholics
believe in it because it is taught
by the Church which speaks for
Christ. They have bountiful
evidence in the universal accept
ance of this doctrine until the
sixteenth century by ail Christ
ians. In the Sacred Scriptures
too there is evidence. (Matthew
26:26-28 John 6:52-54 I Corin
thians 10:16, 11:27-29). The
sixth chapter of St. John (6:35
70) shows clearly the difficulty
of the doctrine as Christ taught
it and His insistence upon the
“hard saying” even to the loss
of His disciples
Q. Was St. Timothy an Irish
saint?
A. There are a number of saints
of that name. None listed in the
.“Book of Saints” are Irish. The
outstanding saint of that name
was a convert and disciple of
Saint Paul. He was horn at
Lystra in Asia Minor. His moth
er was a Jewess but his father
was a pagan. St. Paul made him
RICHARD PATTEE
In speaking here and there
around the country about France
and its present situation, I have
observed that there is a deep
rooted feeling
among our peo
ple or at
least that seg
ment of our
people who al
low themselves
to be seduced
into listening
to lectures
that France is
the weak link
in an other
wise resurgent
Europe that it
is high time
something be done about it, else
we are to be faced with a
declining France incapable of
pulling its weight in the long
haul ahead toward a greater
European integration.
One gets the impression that
stability is associated in the
minds of many Americans with
a government that remains in
office for a fixed period of time,
no matter what happens that
government remains on the job
until its constitutional mandate
expires. To those who are condi
tioned to our ways of govern
ment. there is something discon
certing in this business of a
French government cast out at
the precise moment when events
reach a periodic crisis. How oft
en 1 head the question, “Why
does France pass through a per
iod of no government precisely
when a crisis arises?” The an
swer. obviously, is that the over
throw of a government is the re
sult of a crisis. If there were
none there would be no reason
for asking for a vote on a de
cisive issue.
Stability Mid Instability
Now I do not intend to un
dertake here an analysis of the
intricacies of French politics.
The system, viewed externally,
offers much to criticize. The com
posite mosaic of parties, the la
borious efforts to build a tem
porary and precarious coalition,
the necessity for constant re
shuffling to get a favorable vote
in the Chambers—all this is alien
to the American and. for that
matter, to the British tradition.
On the otfcer hand, certain fea
tures of the French arrangement
that tend to modify somewhat a
first impression of anarchy
should be considered.
1 believe it was Robert Schu
man—and he ought to know—
who remarked once that there is
a curious stability in the midst
of French instability. Shifts and
changes of government may -be
galling to persons dealing with
France but. within the scheme
of things, this is a normal oper­
bishop of Ephesus and address
ed him in two of his New Testa
ment Epistles. About the year
97 A.D. the infuriated worship
pers of the great idol, Diana of
the Ephesians, stoned him to
death. His feast day is January
24th.
Must a convert to the Catho
lic Church condemn. Protestant*
and others? In the ceremony
I read there was a promise to
condemn and reprove all that
the Church has condemned and
reproved.”
A. The Catholic Church does
not condemn any person of any
faith. Ideas and practices which
are against faith and morals
are condemned. Positively it
means that Catholics must be
lieve what Christ teaches and
live as He commands. Teachings
contrary to His are condemned
by the Church as they were by
St. Paul: "But even if we or an
angel from heaven should preach
a gospel to you other than that
which we have preached to you,
let him be anathema!” (Gala
tians 1:8). The fact that they
are many religions holding dif
ferent, often contradictory, doc
trines about God is not true free
dom. The idea that they are all
true—including those who hold
that Christ is divine and those
who hold that He is merely hu
man is not logical. Catholics
believe that there is only one
true Church and all claimants
are false but one. We are tol
erant and pray for those who
do not have the true one.
Q. Can unbaptized babies go to
heaven?
A. Heaven, seeing God face to
face, is a supernatural place and
state granted by God freely. The
conditions are relatively few and
simple. No one has a right to
heaven. The “impossible” privi
lege rests on God’s promises and
the few conditions. The mini
mum is baptism. “Unless a man
be born again of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of heaven.” (John 3:5).
Without supernatural life man
does not have the capacity to
enjoy heaven. For adults there
is baptism of desire or of blood.
It is commonly taught that un
baptized infants enjoy natural
happiness. God loves them, as
He does all men. more than we
do, so we are wrong to suspect
Him of cruelty. Clearly they
cannot go to heaven, but we
know they will not be punished
as they have done no wrong.
The Case Of France
ation Government—that is, the
responsible officialdom that runs
affairs may change and does
change wdth extraordinary fre
quency, but underneath this
shift and reorientation there is
a continuity that should not be
overlooked.
Pertonalifie* Only
When Pinay gave up office
and Mayer took over, or when
Schuman left the Foreign Of
fice and Bidault came in, there
was nothing comparable to the
shift from Truman to Eisenhow
er—or, for example, if Church
ill were to step down tomorrow
in favor of Aneurin Bevan. Per
sonalities change, but policy and
institutions do not. It is well to
note that as hazardous as the
last crisis was, and unfortunate
in shaking confidence in a coun
try badly in need of confidence,
there was no real movement
away from the basic ideas that
have dominated French politics
and international thought since
the war. Schuman has ceased to
be foreign minister, but his suc
cessor George Bidault belongs
to the same political party
(MRP) and reflects the same
views as his predecessor. In
point of fact Bidault may be con
sidered in many ways as the ex
act reflection nf Schuman, of
vice versa, in everything that
hears on French responsibilities
in the world today
It can hardly be maintained
that since this rearrangement
nf the cabinet a new party line
has been intrnduced and that
hencefnrth French international
action becomes quite unpredic
table The French sum it up in
a somewhat trite phrase but one
that defines the situation antlv:
Plus ca change, plus ca reste Id
meme chose—“The more things
change, the more then remain
the same.”
Far Let* Painful
Georges Bidault,. now at the
helm of foreign affairs, has been
on the job in one or another
capacity since 1944. This is con
tinuity with change if there ever
was a case of it. Moreover, each
reallocation of ministries does
not mean that every last civil
servant goes out of office and a
whole new administration takes
over The transition in French af
fairs when one government
leaves and another comes in. is
certainly less painful than that
which has just taken place with
us and of which everyone is ex
tremely proud. In France the
permanent secretaries, the rank
and file of employees go on re
gardless of who may be the min
ister. And not only that, but it
is almost certain that even the
minister who leaves hi? job may
be expected reasonably to re
turn again within the next five
or six crises.