M. Blum and Devaluation M. Blum patiently continues his consultations,
and by next Friday his Ministry will be ready to take office, probably with M. Delbos as Foreign Minister. The issues before M. Blum become clearer, and this is perhaps the justification for his caution. On the one hand, the Communists and Socialists insist both on defending the franc and on large-scale public works and on repeal of M. Laval's decree-laws; their policy can be carried out only by introducing a system of concealed inflation, exchange control and restriction of imports a la Schacht. France however has no Schacht ; and M. Daladier and the Radicals will oppose any attempt to create such a system of industrial and financial autarchy. But this week M. Blum has seen M. Jonhaux, of the Confederation Generale du Travail, and it is interesting that the C.G.T., which, like the Communists, wants large-scale expenditure on public works, has now shown signs, in its paper Le People, that it may be converted to devaluation. M. Germain- Martin, a former Minister of Finance, and various important financial papers, have also been convertecl. It seems clear indeed that the Front Populaire cannot succeed without devaluing. It would be of the greatest help to M. Blum if our Government could assure him that devaluation would not be followed by a further deprecia- tion of sterling. Such an assurance would remove one of the greatest obstacles to a step inherently rational.
