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All this will take time. Meanwhile there were other problems, the solution of which would help to distract the public. The budget was completely unbalanced. Gold was pouring to the U. S. and the franc seemed in danger. France was engaged in an expensive trade war with Britain, and there remained as always the Hitler bugaboo. To drive the stubborn Deputies, Premier Doumergue had just one effective weapon: the threat to resign, go back to his country place, and leave Mm. les Deputées to the mobs of Paris.
Budget, One of the conditions under which the smiling little Southerner agreed to return to politics was that the long-dangling Budget be passed before March 1. Recalcitrant Deputies were dragooned by an ancient device. At midnight Feb. 28 lackeys stepped into the Chamber and stopped the clocks. Mm. les Deputés settled down to wrangle hoarsely till dawn. At 6:30 in the morning, the final vote was taken, and the Budget passed. It called for an expenditure of 50,162.000,000 francs ($3.172,000.000) and leaves France with a deficit of 1,881.000.000 francs. But Premier Doumergue was given dictatorial power to slash expenditures until the Budget balances.
New Deal! Clearer & clearer Frenchmen began to see parallels between Gaston Doumergue's emergency Cabinet and the Roosevelt New Deal. Last week President Roosevelt asked Congress to authorize him to raise and lower tariffs and make foreign trade bargains (see p. 13). Last week Premier Doumergue received precisely that same authority with the Budget bill. Just as President Roosevelt likes to rule by executive order when Congress is away, so Premier Doumergue plans to do the same thing as soon as he can send the Chamber packing. The Ministry of Commerce is to be reorganized and something suspiciously like an NRA code is hanging over the French heavy industries including steel whose leaders have been meeting quietly for days to consider a voluntary agreement covering wages and production for the next three years.
Defense. Nothing served better to take Frenchmen's minds off the Stavisky scandal than new plans for national defense. But this was no cheap distraction. France already has the biggest and best army in Europe, and a navy that has improved 1,000% since the War. For the first time since the Third Republic was founded, two generals sit in the Cabinet—Marshal Petain, Minister of War. and General De-nain. Minister of Air. Bills were sent to Parliamentary committees last week providing for military expenditures of six billion francs ($390.000.000'). France will continue her frontier chain of forts. Because she is absolutely dependent on foreign oil she will build a series of enormous oil reservoirs for the army and navy such as Italy already has. She will set aside a special sum to be used over three years in developing swifter fighting planes. She will build a new 26,000-ton battleship. sister ship to the still incomplete Dunkerque.
Reforms. Of topnotch interest to every French citizen were proposals for reforming and reorganizing the entire parliamentary system. What would Premier Doumergue suggest? How far would he go in overhauling democratic machinery that failed to function in a crisis? The best answer seemed to be in the character of the man himself.