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i t ‘ ‘ i t 4 + ae we - ww ~ . OR tei mee ne - Ud + te ey 1. Prens +p ike sap ae: od fa \ ‘ Re ae t why se a. Oe ee ee Sees . 30 La ibe treated by General Franco! _ if I “were the Sultan of Morocco.” Last week, Franco tricd another amove. He sent 2 law of succession to this puppet parliament. It set up a Coun- «cl of the Kingdom. If Franco died or thecame incapacitated, the council would vadlect a chief of state who would up- dhwild the basic laws of Spain—for the smecord still a monarchy. At home, for once, all opposition <eitcles (including the monarchists) were sagreed: the lofty promise to restore the wm™monarchy was obviously a hedge to <strengthen Franco's wavering grip on tthe country. But Franco’s words also “att off a cevived jockeying for top posi- tion among his opponents. The mon- samchists seemed to have the edge. As lang ago as last January they had ‘brought together all opposition elements except the Communists to work for a stefurbishing of the throne. A number cat Spanish generals and colonels of the ‘Falange who looked to the monarchy ito save their jobs and necks were among tthat number. Mt was no secret that Britain's Foreign ‘Qiice had long cultivated friends among high Spanish army officers, ‘Catholic church leaders, aristocrats and ibusinessmen in a quiet effort to achieve | “@ constitutional monarchy—lest com- smmenism emerge as Franco's heir in «the western Mediterranean. The British ‘thad looked coldly at the republican (gowernment-in-exile of anti-monarchist José Giral. But he was out now and Rodolfo Llopis, his successor in Paris, chinted that Britain might regard his ceabinet with favor if he could agree «with some rightists and monarchists. The US was also about to take an sactive part in the cozy game. It would afer financial encouragement to those -non-Communist Spaniards the State De- Spartment judged capable of bringing sabout a peaceful new regime. A tip-off came in the appointment of tthe new US chargé d'affaires in Ma- Mtid. Careerman Paul T. Culbertson, aputspoken chief of the State Depart- tment’s Western European division, is «a@pposed to an outright return of the rmanarchy but would be guided by the -Aanerican-British-French statement of Hast year urging the people to set up a <earetaker government in place of Franco, Scasunnda heahteheaheiematr stan Geant viata nines 2.0.namnn tema ame Tt te rate engi pte pen eee, Worst Seller NB of the US Government Printing Office's fastest mov- ing items is “Communism in Ac- tion,” a pamphlet produced Last year by the Library of Congress staff which is directed by Repre- sentative Everett M. Dirksen (R, Hil). Dirksen encountered no diffi- culty recently in getting authoriza- tion for a second~ printing o 300,000 copies. Representative Wright Patman (D, Tex.) got the library staff to produce a companion pamphlet of 150 pages entitled “Fascism in Ac- tion.” Early in this session he intro- duced a resolution to have it, too, printed as 2 public document. So far, he has not even been able to’ get a sample copy. He has said that if the House Administration Com- mittee does not report on his meas- ure this week, he will circulate a petition for the 218 signatures needed to by-pass the committee. “It will be interesting to see who refuses,” said Patman; Bugaboo ‘ Civil Liberties RESIDENT TRUMAN'S executive order P of March 22 directing that govern- ment service be rechecked for disloyal persons spoke of “a threat to our demo- cratic processes.” The threat, undefined by the President beyond the adjective “subversive,” has been Freely explained since by newspaper allusions to Wash- ington’s “Red Purge." The White House kept mum. Last week ex-Gov- ernor George H. Earle of Pennsylvania made public a letter, written on Feb- ruary 28, which made the silence seem louder: Dear Governor: I appreciate very much your note of February 26 and I am very happy to be informed of your decision with regard to the American Anti-Communist Assoc2- tion, [Ear?: had resigned.J People are very much wrought up about the “Communist bugaboo,” but I am of the opinion that the country is perfectly safe so far as communism is er eng ete oe -: ple. Our government is made for the lieve there will come a time when any‘ one will ceally want to overturn it. i {Signed} Hagy Truman: - Wanderlust . . New York |’ URING his 16-year grind 23 a bus - driver, Bill Cimillo appeared to : have tuned himself to life's even mono- $ He was a modet iew-" York's Surface Transportation Corpora. tion. Fourteen times a day he shuttled | doggedly across the Bronx, making «. change, replying to the inevitable ques- .” tions, relentlessly imploring the crush of commuters to step to the rear. He 3 was a good father to his kids—born :: to the family in a similar methodical “4 sequence. Like the Bronx, Bill Cimillo’s : horizon was steady if somewhat repe- . titious, 3 Except for a tinge of spring, there * was nothing eventful about the morn. 3 ing when, at 7 a.m., Bill wheeled out e the familiac 44-passengce Diesel to : begin his daily chore. But, unaccount- A ably, something prompted him to turn + the snout of No, 1310 away from the * beaten trail. On the other side of the, Hudson, a company superintendent driving in to work was startled to see : the shiny red-and-buff vehicle purring |” southward. Before the superintendent _ recovered sufficiently to phone an alarm. ; the runaway and its fone occupant had: disappeared down the open road. Police ©; in 11 states were alerted in vain to in- tercept the $18,000, vagabond omnibus. Three days later Western Union de- _ livered a cryptic communiqué to the .- Bronx: “In Hollywood, Florida. Wire money to come back with. Need money for fuel oil. Will drive back. {Signed} Bill Cimillo.” It was all up. Police closed in and clapped the truant into the Hollywood jail, next to the cell of a man who insisted his name was really J. Edgar Hoover. A grand jury quickly returned an indictment for first-degree grand larceny. A New York detective was dispatched to bring back the de- fendant. Bill Cimillo remained philo- sophical: “The fellows at the bus company will understand, I'm sure.” NEW REPUBLIC, ; welfare of the people, and I don't be: . concerned—we have too many sane Bia