The Burden of Poverty

France's dwindling Communist Party, scrabbling for funds, decided that it could no longer support two daily newspapers in Paris. Ce Soir once (1946) had more circulation (602,000) than any other French paper of the time, but of late it had sunk to a lowly 80,000. L'Humanite, the morning paper, was also sharply down, but "L'Huma" is the certified mouthpiece of Communism in France. Last week Ce Soir announced that it was going out of business. Its editor, Author & Poet Louis Aragon, had an explanation of sorts: "American pressure . . . and the boycott of firms working for war."

Many a devout French Red believes that if only Maurice Thorez would come back from Russia, things would get better. Thorez, party boss in France, suffered a stroke in 1950, went to Russia for treatment, has not been seen in France since; many a non-Communist believes that he is dead. Last week L'Huma published a picture of a sickly Maurice Thorez with wife (see cut), claiming that it had been taken in Russia on Feb. 1 of this year. To skeptical Frenchmen, neither the photography nor the claim proved anything--except that Moscow wants the French faithful to believe that "Dear Maurice" is alive.

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