Triumph of Poincare

The number of Communists holding seats in the Chamber of Deputies was halved last week as Frenchmen balloted overwhelmingly for candidates favorable to Conservative Prime Minister Raymond Poincare.

Hereafter M. Poincare can rely on the adherence of some 350 of the 612 Deputies chosen last week, and he needs the support of only 307 to continue in power.

Spectacular was the defeat of Socialist leader Leon Blum, though his party made slight gains. All important members of the Poincare Sacred Union Cabinet regained their Chamber seats, including famed mathematician and War minister Paul Painleve whose re-election seemed doubtful last fortnight (TIME, April 30). Finally a flurry was caused by the election from Alsace-Lorraine of three candidates who desire for their homeland a regional government, semi-independent of France. Since the Prime Minister had personally appealed to Alsace-Lorrainers to show themselves "French without reserve, without consideration, without reticence!" (TIME, Feb. 27) the three elected Regionalists loomed like three small flies in M. Poincare's great cup of triumph.

In general terms the results mean that the Prime Minister can now proceed with confidence to take the four great steps in financial policy to which he is pledged: 1) amortization of the floating debt by a large internal loan; 2) ratifications (possibly after renegotiation) of the Franco-U. S. and Franco-British debt settlements; 3) restoration of the franc to a gold basis, probably at the present stabilized rate of 25 francs to one dollar; 4) acceptance from Germany of a (reduced) lump sum in payment of her reparations, this sum to be derived from the sale of the German railway bonds now held by the Reparations Commission.